Sworn in as prime minister, Spain’s Sánchez readies Cabinet

MADRID – Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez took the oath as Spanish prime minister Wednesday, a day after his proposal to form a leftist coalition government narrowly won a parliamentary confidence vote with support from smaller parties.

With the oath-taking before Spanish King Felipe VI, Sánchez is ending months of political deadlock in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.

He plans to announce the members of his administration next week, the Socialist party said in a statement.

The new Cabinet is set to include members of the anti-austerity United We Can party as a junior partner in the government, including party leader Pablo Iglesias as deputy prime minister.

The Socialist-led coalition faces the daunting task of trying to rein in separatist tensions in the northeastern Catalonia region and keeping economic growth amid a challenging global economic climate.