The Andalusian Parliament scheduled Juan Manuel Moreno’s investiture debate for June 29 and 30, as he seeks to become president of the Junta de Andalucía. The decision followed formal consultations between the chamber’s president, Jesús Aguirre, and all political groups. Moreno’s Popular Party (PP) had 53 of the Parliament’s 109 seats, two short of the 55 needed for an absolute majority in the first ballot. The result followed the May 17 regional election, in which the PP won 41.5% of the vote. Vox secured about 14% and 15 seats, giving the two parties a combined 68 deputies. In 2022, the PP had won 58 seats, allowing Moreno to govern without coalition support.
Negotiations between the PP and Vox had been underway since June 9, but the parties had reached no agreement by the time the debate was scheduled. They kept the discussions confidential, meeting in person and by phone. Moreno said there were “no new developments.” Vox stressed that policy commitments mattered more than government posts. The left-wing opposition, PSOE, Adelante Andalucía and Por Andalucía, reiterated that it would neither support Moreno nor abstain, leaving him without another route to investiture.
The timetable was tight. If Moreno failed to win an absolute majority in the first vote, a second ballot would require a simple majority. If no candidate were elected within two months of the initial vote, new regional elections would follow. The PP said an investiture before the summer break was impressive, giving the incoming government time to prepare and present the regional budget by October, as required by law.
At the investiture session, Moreno was due to present his programme without a time limit. The following day, each parliamentary group would have 30 minutes to respond, while Moreno would have 10 minutes to reply to each. The negotiations would determine whether Andalusia avoided a prolonged political stalemate. The situation echoed political uncertainty elsewhere in Europe, including recent developments in Belgium, where Princess Elisabeth's debut at a state banquet marked a symbolic shift in royal roles amid broader institutional changes.
The negotiations ultimately produced an agreement. The PP and Vox signed a governing pact on July 2, and Moreno was formally invested on July 3 after failing to secure an absolute majority in the first ballot. Vox spokesperson Manuel Gavira said the party would vote against Moreno in that ballot and urged him to find a way to “overcome the left.” The agreement brought Vox into the regional government and ended uncertainty over the formation of the Junta.
The pact also reshaped the executive: Moreno gave Vox’s regional leader, Manuel Gavira, a large ministry with vice-presidential rank. The arrangement broke with the PP’s previous single-party government and established Andalusia’s first regional administration involving Vox. With 68 of 109 seats, the PP and Vox also held more than three-fifths of the chamber, boosting their influence over parliamentary appointments and bodies dependent on Parliament. The Cámara de Cuentas became part of the broader contest over institutional representation. PSOE’s María Jesús Montero criticized Moreno for failing to respect the proportionality of parliamentary groups.
Andalusia is Spain’s most populous autonomous community, and the formation of its government has implications for national politics. A Fundación Centra barometer, based on 3,600 telephone interviews conducted from September 11 to 25, put PP support at 41.5%, equivalent to 52-53 seats. It estimated Vox support at 16.1%, up 2.3 percentage points, with 16-20 seats. The projections, reported by ABC, suggested the PP’s support remained broadly stable after the pact, while Vox could improve on its 15 elected deputies. These were polling estimates, not election results.
