Spain: the Sánchez government is pink – rainbow, even
Rights — di Elisabetta Scuri
The new Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has revealed the names of the ministers (male and female) who make up his government. And there are a few surprises.
Spain: the Sánchez government is pink – rainbow, even
The new Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has revealed the names of the ministers (male and female) who make up his government. And there are a few surprises.
Pedro Sánchez keeps surprising. After tabling a vote of no confidence against former prime minister Mariano Rajoy – passed with 180 votes in favour out of 350 – and becoming the new Spanish prime minister, he has revealed who makes up his cabinet. It consists of 11 women and 6 men, two of whom are gay, demonstrating Spain's leading role in safeguarding LGBT rights.
Who are the ministers (male and female) in the Sánchez government
The Sánchez government is, then, a pink one, in which women hold key roles. Constitutional lawyer Carmen Calvo, 61, is deputy prime minister and minister for Equality. Dolores Delgado, a judge at the Audiencia nacional specialising in counter-terrorism, is the new minister for Justice. Stepping in as minister for the Environment is Teresa Ribera, one of the leading experts in climate change negotiations: she is director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (Iddri), which played a key role in securing the Paris Agreement on climate. She has taken part in almost every United Nations summit on global warming and served as Secretary of State for the Environment and Climate Change from 2008 to 2011.
Carmen Montón, a doctor from Valencia, is the new minister for Health; Sánchez has chosen Isabel Celaá, who followed education policy in the Basque autonomous government, as minister for Education. A Catalan, Meritxell Batet, will head the Public Administration portfolio; María Jesús Montero, from Andalusia, will take Finance. The new minister for the Economy is Nadia Calviño, director-general of the Budget at the European Commission since 2014. Finally, Magdalena Valerio is minister for Labour, Margarita Robles will head Defence, and Reyes Maroto will lead Industry, Trade and Tourism.
There are surprises among the male appointments too. The minister for Culture and the minister for the Interior are both openly gay; the minister for Science, meanwhile, is an astronaut: with a degree in aeronautical engineering, Pedro Duque has taken part in two space missions.
The new government will not have an easy time, since Sánchez's Socialist Party does not hold a majority in parliament, but the message the prime minister has sent is unquestionably positive and hopeful. One can only hope that our own country might follow suit and that more and more women come to play central roles in the political world. And who knows — perhaps Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will one day become a minister too.