The 22 ministers of the new Government of Spain promise their positions before the king

Madrid, Nov 21 (EFE).- The 22 members of the new coalition government in Spain promised their positions this Tuesday before the head of state, King Felipe VI.

At the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, the royal residence, members of the coalition executive between the socialist party PSOE and the left-wing Sumar party promised to respect the Constitution and maintain loyalty to the king.

Before a copy of the Constitution and without religious symbols, the ministers, nine of them new, read the text of the promise before the monarch, the president of the Spanish Government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, and representatives of other powers of the State such as witnesses.

The first was Félix Bolaños, since as the new head of Justice he served as chief notary of the kingdom in the promise of the other ministers.

Next came the four vice presidents, in a cabinet with a majority of women, twelve, followed by the heads of the so-called ministries of State and the rest in order of seniority of each department.

Many of them concluded their compliance by emphasizing that they will maintain "the secrecy of the deliberations of the Council of Ministers", also in women's terms.

Once everyone complied with the Constitution, they took a family photo with the king and Sánchez and then had an informal chat behind closed doors.

"We can break ranks," María Jesús Montero, the new fourth vice president, jokingly noted, to undo the posturing.

The event was attended by the president of Congress, the socialist Francina Armengol; that of the Senate, the conservative Pedro Rollán; that of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido; and that of the General Council of the Judiciary, the governing body of judges, by substitute, Vicente Guilarte.

Once the promise is formalized, the ministers will assume the portfolios from their predecessors at the headquarters of each ministry.

Sánchez's Executive maintains the basic pillars of the last legislature, with a marked political profile, the focus on the economy, with ten economic ministries, and the challenge of institutional stability in a very polarized Spain.

In this legislature, the Spanish Executive will have to face a notable political and social division due to the amnesty law for Catalan independentists, a condition imposed by these parties for Sánchez's investiture and which causes protests in the country.