New Leaders Grab the Reins of Power in Italy and Spain
- Sanchez prepares for government in Madrid after Rajoy ousted
- Nationalists take over in Rome after months of deadlock
Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a no-confidence motion vote at parliament in Madrid on June 1, 2018.
Photographer: Angel Navarrete/BloombergSpain’s new leader began harnessing the unlikely forces that brought him to power while a populist government took over in Italy, capping a week of political drama that sent financial markets into turmoil as the future of the euro region again rose to the fore.
In Madrid, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez was sworn in Saturday by King Felipe VI as the seventh prime minister of Spain’s democratic era after his appointment was published in the official gazette. He seized the opportunity to tap outrage over a corruption scandal involving the governing People Party to corral Catalan separatists and Basques into backing his no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.