Barely 12 hours after the start of the electoral count that certified the historic defeat of the PSOE in Extremadura, Pedro Sánchez appeared early this Monday from the Moncloa Palace to report on the changes in the government. … The departure of Pilar Alegría to assume the candidacy of the Socialists in Aragon on February 8 requires a restructuring, which consists of doubling her functions.
The president announced that Elma Saiz will be the next spokesperson for the Executivewho will assume this condition alongside his functions within the Inclusion portfolio. The Minister of Education and Sports will be the former mayor of Toledo and government delegate in Castile-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón. Sánchez has already announced that the people chosen will be two women, he did so during an informal conversation with journalists at the Moncloa Christmas drinkin which he put an end to the speculations that entrusted this responsibility to Félix Bolaños or Óscar López.
Position of particular importance
The function of spokesperson takes on particular importance in the current era of the legislature. Now entering the second phase of his current mandate, Sánchez needs a politically muscular profile to lead the weekly Tuesday press conferences after the Council of Ministers. The feeling of paralysis, with the impossibility of approving budgets and the feeling of the end of the cycle, forces us to strengthen efforts to project the viability of the executive and launch the campaign from the table of the Council of Ministers.
The changes, forced by Alegría’s departure, also come after a confrontation with the coalition’s minority partner. The second vice president demanded that Sánchez promote a “deep overhaul” of the government to try to get back on its feet after being devastated by a wave of corruption scandals, fueled by the controversy over cases of sexual harassment within the PSOE. As expected, the president limited himself to carrying out a “surgical” replacement.
About The Author
