SOCIALISTS TO GOVERN, PODEMOS OPT FOR PARLIAMENT

It wasn’t quite at the last minute but the clock had been ticking on agreements between PSOE, Més and Podemos as to the make-up of both the Balearic parliamentary board and the next government of the Balearics. At around 6p.m yesterday evening, however, came the news: Francina Armengol of PSOE will be the next president of the Balearics.
Podemos had made a proposal to overcome the impasse between themselves and PSOE; Més have been the only one of the three parties to have not imposed any conditions regarding their involvement in the next government. The proposal was that they should have the position of the president of the parliament (one that is akin to the Speaker). In exchange, they would support the investiture of Armengol as president. This proposal did, though, buck convention: it is normal for the presidents of the parliament and government to be from the same party. In the end PSOE accepted the proposal. Podemos will vote for her investiture in parliament and so secure her position as Balearic president, though they will not take up positions in the government executive. There is a general agreement to support the government’s programme, and Podemos’s leader, Alberto Jarabo, has thanked Armengol and PSOE for their “generosity” in accepting many of the proposals Podemos had made for this programme.