Spanish elections: right-wing parties fail to win majority
Spain faces a political deadlock following Sunday's parliamentary elections after right-wing parties failed to secure a decisive victory predicted by opinion polls. There is virtually no clear winner in Sunday's general election, reports Reuters.
The centre-right Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox won a total of 169 seats in parliament, while the ruling Socialists (PSOE) and far-left Sumar won 153, well short of the 176 seats needed for a majority.
Having won the most seats, the Popular Party (PP) will have a first attempt to muster enough votes in parliament to win a vote to swear in the prime minister. But its alliance with the far-right Vox will make it difficult for any other faction to gain support.
Reuters also reports that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's socialists have several options, but face potentially unpleasant demands from Catalan separatist parties. These could include insisting on an independence referendum, triggering the kind of political chaos seen in 2017 when Catalonia last tried to break away from Spain.
