section_path: Politics/Governance/Government
section_name: Government
paragraph_text: Government
  
  Executive authority rests with the Government (Gobierno de España), which is collectively responsible to the Congress of Deputies. It consists of the prime minister, one or more deputy prime ministers, and the various ministers of state. These characters together constitute the Council of Ministers which, as Spain's central executive authority, conducts the business of the Government and administers the civil service. The Government remains in office so long as it can maintain the confidence of the Congress of Deputies.
  
  The prime minister, as head of government, enjoys primacy over the other ministers by virtue of his or her ability to advise the monarch as to their appointment and dismissal. Moreover, the prime minister has plenary authority conferred by the Spanish Constitution to direct and coordinate the Government's policies and administrative actions. The Spanish monarch nominates the prime minister after consulting representatives from the different parliamentary groups and in turn formally appoints him or her to office upon a vote of investiture in the Congress of Deputies.