SPAIN’S Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday unveiled a new pro-European Union government with the most women in modern history, with 11 female and six male ministers.

The new executive composed by the 46-year-old, who ousted conservative veteran Mariano Rajoy as prime minister on Friday in a no-confidence vote, includes astronaut Pedro Duque as science minister.

EU budget manager Nadia Calvino will become economy minister, and former European Parliament president Josep Borrell foreign minister.

Sanchez said his executive is “a reflection of the best in society”, a society he described as composed of women and men, old and young, rooted in the EU.

But, it is also a minority government, as the Socialists have only 84 lawmakers in the 350-seat Parliament.

As such, the government will have a tough time governing Spain, relying as it will on the votes of far-left party Podemos, as well as Basque and Catalan nationalist lawmakers who supported his no-confidence motion.

Former judges, prosecutors

The new executive includes two veteran Socialists – Carmen Calvo, vice-president, and Borrell.

Calvo, who was culture minister from 2004 to 2007, will also be in charge of equality, a priority for Sanchez’s government in a country where women staged an unprecedented strike to defend their rights on March 8.

Anti-terror prosecutor Dolores Delgado will be justice minister, former Supreme Court judge Margarita Robles defence minister, and other women have been put in charge of education, employment or health.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, a former judge in Spain’s top-level National Court, where he took on cases against Basque separatist group ETA, will head the Interior Ministry.

Women will also lead the economic team of Sanchez’s government, whose “main priority” will be to respect Madrid’s deficit-reduction commitments to the EU, the new prime minister has said.

Spain has promised to reduce its deficit to 2.2% of gross domestic product this year, thus finally going under the 3% limit set by Brussels.

The new economy minister will be Calvino, who is director-general for budget at the European Commission and has 12 years’ experience in high-level postings in Brussels.

Maria Jesus Montero, meanwhile, will become budget minister after playing a similar role at the regional level in southern Andalusia.

Sanchez’s new team, which the Socialist leader presented to King Felipe VI earlier yesterday, also includes a minister in charge of science, innovation and universities.

And, the man to take that role is Spain’s first astronaut, Duque.

On a day-to-day basis, Meritxell Batet, a Catalan, has been put in charge of relations with Spain’s regions.

As such, she will have the prickly task of trying to ease the situation in her own deeply divided home region.

Finally, Maxim Huerta, an award-winning author, will become culture minister. – AFP, June 7, 2018.