Agreement reached on Picornell as next parliament speaker

Podemos have arrived at agreement with the two government parties, the Minorca wing of Més having been reluctant to accept Picornell as there had been a general agreement that the speaker should be another woman. With Xelo Huertas, the former speaker, and Montse Seijas having been expelled from the party, there were two female Podemos deputies: Laura Camargo, who ruled herself out, and Marta Maicas, who has been interviewed by a judge looking into allegations that Seijas's digital signature had been forged.

The general secretary of Podemos, Alberto Jarabo, says that Picornell will "modernise the parliament" and that Podemos are "proud that he can be speaker". Commenting on Picornell's background as a metalworker, Jarabo believes that this shows Picornell's "distance from professional politicians".

There was a row between Podemos and PSOE and Més, with Jarabo saying that the other parties had objected to Picornell because of his trade, something that was flatly rejected by both parties. Jarabo has since apologised, saying that this had been his "personal interpretation".

The Partido Popular has proposed its own candidate, Nuria Riera, to be speaker. If there is still an election between the two on Tuesday, the PSOE-Més-Podemos majority will guarantee Picornell's victory.