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The associated press
Ciaran Giles
Published July 24, 2023 • read for 3 minutes
Workers remove an election poster depicting Alberto Feijoo, leader of the mainstream conservative Popular Party, from party headquarters in Madrid, Spain, on Monday, July 24, 2023. Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after elections a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government. Photo by Emilio Morenatti /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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MADRID (AP) — Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after general elections a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government.
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Uncertainty increased as Spain’s two main parties indicated they hope to take power. The only certain thing seems to be that the country will have weeks, if not months, of political negotiations and possibly new elections to sort out the mess.
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Here’s a look at what happened and what could happen in the coming months.
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A BITTER VICTORY FOR THE OPPOSITION
Alberto Nunez Feijoo’s right-of-centre Popular Party, or PP, won the most votes, finishing with 133 seats. But unlike almost all pre-election polls, it fell far short of the 176 seats a party needs to win a majority in Spain’s 350-seat parliament.
Even if she joins forces with the far-right party Vox, which won 33 seats, she will not reach that threshold.
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In short, the PP’s decision to consider forming a coalition with Vox did not pay off with voters.
With its stated intention to oust Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez now far from certain, the PP insists that as the first-placed party in the vote it has the right to form a government.
The PP has urged the Socialists to abstain in a parliamentary vote and allow the party to take power. But such a scenario is highly unlikely given the traditional animosity between the two groups.
Taking office as a minority government would also leave the PP fighting for its survival on almost every piece of legislation it introduces.
Apart from Vox, the PP has few friends in parliament.
CAN THERE STILL BE A LEFT COALITION?
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Despite all the predictions, Sanchez has an outside chance to stay in office. His Socialist Party won 122 seats and his main potential partner, Sumar, has 31.
Since 2019, his left-wing minority coalition government has relied on the support of small regional parties in the Basque Country and Catalonia. He could try to repeat that balancing act.
But even if he succeeded in rallying the regional forces again, one major hurdle looms: he would need the support or abstinence of the Catalan separatist party Junts.
The leader of the party, Carles Puigdemont, is a member of the European Parliament and lives in Belgium. But he is also a fugitive from Spanish justice and may be extradited to stand trial for organizing a 2017 independence struggle.
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Junts officials have already said they want something in return for making a deal with Sanchez. The specter of those demanding an independence referendum for Catalonia, as their prize would open a Pandora’s box for both Spain and Sanchez.
WHO ARE THE OTHER MAIN PLAYERS?
Besides the conservative Partido Popular and the center-left socialists, the two other main players are Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, and the left-wing Sumar Movement, led by acting Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz.
The prospect of Spain having a far-right party in power for the first time since General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship has diminished for the moment after Vox lost 19 of its parliamentary seats to a total of 33. Yet it remains the country’s third-largest political force.
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Sumar, with 31 seats, failed to win Vox for third, but has said it will try to form a new leftist progressive government with Sanchez.
WILL THERE BE AN ELECTION?
The new Spanish parliament will meet in a month. In accordance with official procedure, King Felipe VI is expected to invite one of the party leaders, Feijoo or Sanchez, to try and form a government.
That leader would then submit his candidacy to parliamentary votes. Any candidate who receives enough support can form a government.
The 350 legislators have a maximum of three months to reach an agreement. Otherwise there would be new elections.
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Barry Hatton contributed to this report from Lisbon, Portugal.
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