MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s King Felipe on Tuesday nominated the leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, to face a parliamentary vote for prime minister, lower house speaker Francina Armengol said.
The king, who is head of state, made the decision after consulting representatives of parties that won parliamentary seats in an inconclusive election on July 23 to ascertain whom they would support in the investiture vote.
The conservative leader earlier on Tuesday said he would accept such nomination “with honor and loyalty to the nation.”
No single party or bloc earned an outright majority of seats in the snap general election. Feijoo’s PP won the most seats – 137 – and so far has the support of another 35 deputies, including from far-right Vox, with a total backing of 172.
Feijoo will need the support of 176 lawmakers out of the lower house’s 350 deputies to clinch the premiership, or, failing that, a simple majority of more yeas than nays in a second vote. If he loses again, the king has to pick a new candidate.
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he intends to seek the support of the lower house for a new term, and, in a show of strength of the left bloc, his Socialists had their candidate appointed speaker of the lower house last week.
If no candidate secures a majority within two months of the first vote, new elections have to be called.
(Reporting by Pietro Lombardi; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Porter)
