Spain’s prime minister Sanchez may trigger early elections

SPAIN’S Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has raised the possibility of early elections if his minority government reaches a stage where it can no longer pass legislation effectively.
Sanchez said he ousted predecessor Mariano Rajoy of the People’s Party with the support of other groups in Congress that have shown willingness to support some of his proposed bills.
In a televised interview on Sunday he said that should such support slide, he would have no choice but to call an election.
It marks a change of tack from the Prime Minister, who has previously insisted on seeing out the remainder of his term until 2020.
Sanchez is struggling to pass legislation including next year’s budget plan with just 84 Socialist deputies in the 350-seat parliament.
However, he said that he has been talking with allies like the anti-establishment Podemos party.
One way to secure Podemos’ support could be to raise taxes for high earners, which Sanchez plans to do.
He may have also been boosted by a poll on the weekend that suggested the Socialists have a clear lead over their rivals.
However, Sanchez also needs the support of pro-independence Catalan parties, and while he won’t allow a referendum on secession, he wants to explore ways of allowing more self-government for the region to resolve the dispute.

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