Laurence Dollimore
THE Spanish Government will seek to extend the state of alarm by two weeks tomorrow.
It comes after prime minister Pedro Sanchez agreed a pact with centre-right party Ciudadanos today.
It had been revealed that Sanchez wanted to extend the state of alarm to June 27, vowing it would be the ‘last extension’, however this was rejected by Ciudadanos.
It means Sanchez will have to ask permission yet again in two weeks time if he wants to extend it to the end of June.
The extension of the end of the state of alarm from May 25 to June 7 will be voted on in the Congress of Deputies tomorrow.
The opposition party, Partido Popular, has already announced it will not support the extension, as has the far-right Vox party.
Both have been vocal in their criticisms of the coalition government’s handling of the crisis, despite recent polling suggesting they are mostly supported by the people.
A poll released today suggests the PSOE would increase its voter share if a general election were held tomorrow, while the PP and Vox would lose votes.
But Sanchez will need the support of independent parties, something which is not yet guaranteed ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
It is why he had wanted to extend the state of alarm one last time until June 27, as asking for sixth time will prove extremely difficult.
If the motion passes tomorrow, it will extend the state of alarm until June 7.
That will mean the quarantine for international travellers, announced last week, will also end on that date, given that it was ruled to last ‘until the state of alarm ends.’
