This Friday, Congress shelved the investiture plenary session of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, after the leader of the PP did not obtain the support of the Chamber to be invested as president of the Government. The second vote, which closed the plenary session, registered 172 votes in favor, 177 against and one invalid, that of the Junts deputy Eduard Pujol who, by mistake, voted yes when he wanted to vote no. With the failure of Feijóo, a window of opportunity opens for the next candidate, Pedro Sánchez. The procedure that follows from now on is perfectly regulated in the Constitution.
Time is the first variable that will come into play. Since an investiture attempt has already taken place after the elections, a deadline has been set for other candidates to try. Article 99 of the Constitution establishes a period of two months for these new investiture attempts to take place, which are counted from the first failed vote, that is, that of this Wednesday, September 27. The next candidate, in this case Pedro Sánchez, has a deadline of November 27. If it fails, new general elections will be called that day.
So the countdown is on. The first stage will be the Zarzuela, where the president of Congress, Francina Armengol, will go today to inform the King of the results of the votes.
As he already did after the general elections of 23-J, the head of state will call -next week- a round of contacts with the representatives of the parties with seats in Congress to explore possible support, before designating a new candidate for the investiture After Feijóo's failure, Felipe VI will entrust the second most votes, Pedro Sánchez, head of the PSOE list.
Armengol will then return to the Zarzuela to learn about Felipe VI's decision. The president of Congress could announce it in an appearance, and there could also be a statement from the King's House.
From that moment on, the PSOE will intensify contacts with the rest of the political parties to negotiate their support for Sánchez's investiture. Negotiations are already underway, but will be carried out more intensively and publicly. As explained by socialist sources, a round of contacts will be formally opened with all parliamentary groups.
It is still unknown when the investiture debate will take place. Calling it is an exclusive responsibility of the presidency of Congress, as stipulated by the regulations of the Chamber, which does not set deadlines for doing so. Armengol will announce the date in the coming days after consulting with Sánchez, as he did with Feijóo. Setting a date for the investiture debate will require taking into account his institutional responsibilities as acting president of the Government and acting president of the European Council.
Next week is marked on Sánchez's European agenda. On October 5 and 6, the Granada summit will be held, in which the leaders of the member states of the European Union will meet, with the aim of accelerating reforms to expand the club of Twenty-seven to other countries.
Another European event to take into account for the investiture is October 24, when the meeting of the General Affairs Council will be held in Brussels, in which the Spanish Government's proposal to make official the use of Catalan, Galician and Galician will be addressed again. and Basque in the EU.
And the October calendar closes with a solemn ceremony in the Cortes Generales, which will host the swearing-in ceremony of the Constitution of the Princess of Asturias, on October 31, when Leonor turns 18.
November would still be ahead. But the socialist candidate is confident that it will not be necessary to rush the two-month deadline and this Thursday he already anticipated his conviction that there will be a new coalition government "in a short time."
If, despite his optimistic expectations, Sánchez were to fail in his attempt, on November 27 the King would have to dissolve the Cortes and call new elections. These would be held 47 days later, that is, on January 14, according to the reform that was made to the electoral law in 2016 for cases of repetition of the elections, and the campaign, lasting only one week in that circumstance, would begin. night of January 5th.
