Women are on the rise in Spain. The new government has eleven women and six men. The new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, put women in most of the top positions, including head of defence, the economy, education and finance. Spain now has the highest ratio of women in top government posts in Europe. Mr Sanchez said people in his government wanted to move Spain forward. He said: "All are highly qualified and bring a vocation for public service and reflect the best of Spain. [They are]...open to the world but anchored in the European Union."
Mr Sanchez looks like an unlikely leader. His party has just 84 of the 350 seats in parliament. He replaced the unpopular conservative leader Mariano Rajoy on Friday. Mr Rajoy was the focus of a corruption scandal. He was unpopular because of his austerity measures. Sanchez promised to change Spain. He has to work quickly to improve Spain's economy. He has promised to call elections in less than two years. This may not be enough time to change the last government's budget. One of his biggest challenges will be rebuilding relations with the region of Catalonia.