Spain’s Socialist house speaker candidate wins support from Catalan groups

Spain’s Socialist party on Thursday won support from Catalan separatist parties in parliament’s lower house for its candidate to be speaker, a development that could lead to its first victory in the quest to form a new government.
After an inconclusive election on July 23, newly elected legislators were assembling on Thursday to pick the speaker in a vote. The centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has proposed Francina Armengol for the job.
Catalonia’s left-wing separatist party Esquerra Republicana reached an agreement with the PSOE to back Armengol, party leader Gabriel Ruffian told a news conference.
Rival separatist party Junts also struck a deal in principle to back Armengol, according to state broadcaster TVE and a number of other media.
Far-left alliance Sumar, the fourth-largest group in parliament, has said from the beginning it would back the PSOE.