Spain’s acting prime minister signs deal that secures him the parliamentary support to be reelected

By CIARÁN GILES
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has signed an agreement with a small Basque party that ensures him enough parliamentary support to be reelected, possibly next week. The deal between the Socialist party and the Basque Nationalist Party on Friday means that Sánchez should be able to count on the support of 178 legislators, two more than the majority he needs in the 350-seat Parliament. On Thursday, the Socialists clinched the support in Parliament of a fringe Catalan separatist party led by fugitive former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont in exchange for an amnesty for potentially thousands of people involved in the region’s failed secession bid in 2017. The amnesty has raised the ire of Spain’s two main opposition parties and sparked many protests.