BREAKING NEWS: Spain’s PM secures sixth and final lockdown extension until June 21

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has managed to secure his last State of Alarm extension this evening, set to end on June 21.

SANCHEZ had struggled to get the support he has needed to get the last two extensions approved, given the mounting opposition mainly from the Partido Popular and Vox parties, who have heavily criticised the Government’s handling of the crisis. However thanks to pacts made with ERC, PNV and Ciudadanos, earlier in the week, he managed to get enough votes to get the lockdown extended for the sixth and final time, with 177 votes in favour of the extension, 155 against and 18 abstaining from the vote.

Sanchez justified the last extension to ensure that the Government retains the power to manage the last stages of de-escalation cautiously. The Prime Minister confirmed that Spain’s regional premiers can regain control over their own territories and drive their own de-escalation processes at a speed of their choosing, except for laws governing mobility, once communities are in Phase 3 of de-escalation, as reported. That will as soon as June 8, for many regions. The lockdown will come to an end on June 21, when freedom of movement will finally be restored.

Sanchez also pointed out that the worst of the pandemic is over, thanks to the actions he took during the State of Alarm. Now that that the pandemic is under control, he says he plans to focus on the economy, which has been severely devastated by the lockdown and pandemic. He also used the opportunity today to urge the parties to come together to help “transform” the country’s “economic model into a more sustainable one”.