Astronaut named Spain’s new science minister

Pedro Sanchez appoints majority-women
cabinet as he seeks to legitimise new government

One-Minute Read

The country’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who ousted
Mariano Rajoy in a vote of no confidence last week following a
massive corruption scandal, has named the first Spaniard ever to
travel into space, Pedro Duque, as minister for science, innovation
and universities.

But it is in the make-up of the rest of his cabinet which has
drawn the most attention, and where Sanchez has diverged
dramatically from his predecessor, naming nine women and three men
in his first round of appointments.

The BBC describes Sanchez as a “self-labelled
feminist” and his women-majority cabinet stands “in contrast to the
male-dominated executives of ousted PM Mariano Rajoy”.

Women will take the deputy premiership, as well as economy,
finance and justice portfolios.

El Pais says his cabinet choices “send out a
strong message about his position on high-profile issues such as
Catalan separatism and gender equality”.

Bloomberg says the appointments also show
Sanchez “laying out his credentials to be credible on the economy –
a strong suit for his predecessor Mariano Rajoy – and enforcing the
rule of law in Catalonia”.

“Sanchez faces a battle to establish the legitimacy of his
government from the start with the outgoing People’s Party and
Ciudadanos accusing him of an unscrupulous power grab last week”
adds the news agency.

Sanchez’s position is indeed precarious. His party only has a
quarter of the seats in parliament and only won the no confidence
vote with the support of six other parties, including Basque and
Catalan nationalists.

Yet despite receiving the support of the anti-austerity Podemos
party in his attempt to become prime minister, Sanchez has rejected
its calls for a place in government, appointing his cabinet from
within the ranks of his PSOE party.