He Audience Hall of the Zarzuela Palace He prepared again this Tuesday for the promise of the 22 ministers who, as of today, make up Pedro Sánchez’s new government. Half an hour after nine in the morning, the president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol; that of the Senate, Pedro Rollan; that of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido; and the General Council of the Judiciary, Vicente Guilarte, took their places at the side of the room. Next, the new ministers entered and the room was already packed when Felipe VI crossed the door that separates his office from this audience hall.
After the head of Protocol of the House read the decrees of November 20 of the BOfficial State Bulletin With the appointment of the 22 portfolios, Félix Bolaños took a step forward and was the first to promise. Due to his position as Minister of Justice, this must be the case in order to then act as a senior notary of the Kingdom and attest to the promise of the rest of his colleagues in the Government, because no one has used the oath. “I promise to faithfully fulfill the obligations of the position of Minister of Justice, with loyalty to the King, and to preserve and ensure the preservation of the Constitution as a fundamental norm of the State, as well as to maintain the secrecy of the deliberations of the Minister council“, they said, although several of them modified the reading of the text to add the tagline “Council of Ministers.” In fact, there was division in the new Government, so Bolaños, Albares, Robles, Planas and Bustinduy chose the classic formula The rest said “ministers.” The head of Igualdas, Ana Redondo, added: “ministers, of course.”
Following Bolaños came, in order: the Minister of Economy and first vice president, Nadia Calviño; that of Labor and second vice president, Yolanda Díaz; the Minister of Ecological Transition and third vice president, Teresa Ribera; that of Finance and Public Function and fourth vice president, María Jesús Montero; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; that of Defense, Margarita Robles; the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; the newly elected Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente; the Minister of Education, Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría; that of Housing and Urban Agenda: Isabel Rodríguez; the Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu; that of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas; that of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; that of Culture: Ernest Urtasun; that of Health, Mónica García; the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy; the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant; the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo; that of Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá; that of Social Security, Elma Saiz, and the Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego.
The new ministers greeted the King after his swearing-in and all posed in a group photograph. A protocolary and necessary act to carry out your job that lasted less than ten minutes. After him, the new legislature and work in the ministries begins. Pedro Sánchez has opted for continuity with the model of the previous legislature, and has not made major changes to his core trust. In fact, 13 ministers repeat and only nine are taking office for the first time.
Half an hour after arriving at the mountains of El Pardo, the delegations of ministers began to leave the Zarzuela Palace, each one destined for his ministry. There, the nine ministers who are taking office for the first time will exchange their portfolios with those who are leaving their positions. Tomorrow all the ministers will meet again in the first Council of the new legislature.