As expected, 51-year-old Sánchez received 179 of the 350 parliamentarians behind him. In September, parliament already voted on the appointment of the election winner, the conservative Alberto Nuñez Feijóo. His bid to become prime minister was rejected twice.
In exchange for the support of the Catalan parties, Sánchez submitted an amnesty law. That law should scrap the prosecution of hundreds of Catalan separatists for their role in the independence struggle. Those plans have led to massive protests in Spain. Opposition parties believe that Sánchez bought a new term in exchange for a pardon for people who tried to destroy the country. Sánchez says that the law is intended to create unity in the country again.