Spain’s PM expects to win enough votes to extend lockdown until June 7

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has requested Congress to extend the State of Alarm today until June 7, for the fifth time to contain the spread of coronavirus.

DESPITE struggling to garner the support he needs to get the fifth extension agreed, Sanchez expects to win enough votes to secure another lockdown extension for two weeks, thanks to a pact he made yesterday with Ciudadanos, and confirmation of support from the regional Basque National Party.

Should Sanchez win the vote today, he plans to ask for one last extension, until the end of June. Last week, Sanchez proposed to extend the lockdown for a month until June 27, promising it would be the last. However, due to a lack of support from the opposition parties, he decided to ask for a shorter extension of just two weeks up to June 7 – a move that some parties, like Ciudadanos support.

Both the far-right party Vox and Partido Popular have already announced that they do not support any more extensions. The vote will be announced later today.