Spain’s Sanchez Keeps Key Ministers as Partner Shakes Up Posts

(Bloomberg) -- Spain’s Pedro Sanchez kept top ministers unchanged in his next government as junior coalition partner Sumar sought to assert itself with four new appointments.

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The revamped cabinet is a group “with high political profiles,” with a majority of female members and a strong focus on women’s rights, Sanchez said in a speech on Monday.

He also said Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero will become a vice president.

Sanchez unveiled his new 22-member cabinet after winning reelection as prime minister in a confidence vote last week with the backing of Catalan separatists. It will include 12 women and 10 men, with women holding all four vice-president posts.

His Socialist party and its junior partner Sumar, led by Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz, will face a strengthened right-wing opposition, led by the conservative People’s Party, which controls most of Spain’s regions and large cities, as well as the Senate, and has 171 seats in the 350-member parliament.

Opponents of Sanchez are also furious over the premier’s decision to pass a sweeping amnesty law for Catalan secessionists in exchange for support to form a government after an inconclusive July election.

The core group of cabinet briefs — known as “state ministries” in Spain — remains mostly unchanged, with the foreign affairs, interior and defense ministers staying on. Economy Minister Nadia Calvino also keeps her role for now as she bids to become president of the European Investment Bank. Sanchez will only replace her if she gets the job in the coming weeks.

The biggest changes came from Diaz, who appointed four ministers to work alongside her. She originally joined the cabinet in 2020 with then partner Unidas Podemos, but has since formed her own group, Sumar, which has taken over the role.

While Sanchez has sought to limit his junior coalition party’s power by giving it less important ministries, it has proved capable of outsize influence. Sexual consent legislation and a law on trans rights, both sponsored by outgoing far-left Equality Minister Irene Montero, ended up becoming highly controversial and played a significant part in elections this year.

Here are the main changes in Sanchez’s government:

• Industry: Jordi Hereu, former mayor of Barcelona who belongs to the powerful Catalan chapter of the Socialist party, will oversee policy linked to European recovery funds

• Transport: Oscar Puente, former Socialist mayor of the city of Valladolid, is expected to be a key spokesman for the government

• Regional policy: Angel Torres, a former president of the Canary Islands, will manage relations with the regional presidents, most of whom belong to the opposition

• Digital Transformation: Jose Luis Escriva, one of Sanchez’s main economic advisers who headed social security until now, will take over a new ministry that includes some briefs previously under the Economy Ministry

• Justice: Felix Bolanos, who is one of Sanchez’s closest allies and led the talks over the Catalan amnesty law

• Health: Monica Garcia, a doctor and member of Sumar

• Culture: Ernest Urtasun, Sumar’s spokesman

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