Vote of no-confidence in Spain to be discussed Thursday and Friday
Catalan pro-independence parties could be key to making it succeed
Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of no-confidence this Thursday and Friday. The Spanish Congress bureau set May 31 and June 1 as the days to discuss the Spanish president and his cabinet in the chamber. If the motion is voted by an absolute majority of lawmakers, Rajoy will be forced to step down from office after six and a half years in the post. Although it's not certain it will pass, Catalan pro-independence parties could play a key role in the vote. The Spanish government has been directly ruling Catalonia since last October.
The Spanish Socialists put forward the motion soon after a corruption case verdict affecting Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) was out last week. Its former treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, was sentenced to 33 years in jail and fined 44 million euros, with the party fined around 250,000 euros for benefitting from the fraud.
Chances vote of no-confidence to succeed
At least 176 out of 350 MPs in the Spanish Congress have to vote in favor of the motion for it to succeed. At first, 155 lawmakers said Yes, including the Socialists (84), the leftwing Unidos Podemos (67) and Valencian Podemos allies Compromís (4). Unidos Podemos include 12 Catalan MPs in the En Comú Podem candidacy, non-aligned with the Catalan independence debate. Yet Unidos Podemos announced on Monday an internal vote to decide its final position.