Spain’s Socialist Party handed Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the first chance to form a coalition after an indecisive election that saw voters shift allegiance to new political blocs at the expense of the two main parties.
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At the time of writing, the latest data showed the PP held on to 123 seats in the 350 seat congress, a major loss from the 186 seats the party won in the 2011 elections, and the ensuing majority.
An exit poll for public television TVE had earlier put Podemos in second place behind the Popular Party and ahead of the Socialists.
Ciudadanos party leader Albert Rivera (C) reacts with party members after results were announced in Spain’s general election in Madrid, Spain, December 20, 2015.
Throughout the campaign, 60-year-old Rajoy said the party winning the most votes should take the lead in forming a government. “Spaniards know that today is a historic day”.
According to the exit poll, the only combination of two parties that would have an absolute majority in parliament would be an alliance of the PP with either the Socialists or Podemos, which party leaders have ruled out.
Seen as running out of steam just months ago, Podemos gained ground again thanks to Iglesias’s down-to-earth appeal and his move away from the more radical, far-left ideals and rhetoric his party once espoused.
For four decades the PP and the PSOE have dominated Spanish politics, swapping power at regular intervals. The splintering of political sentiment has left Spain with no clear governing coalition, risking instability and a market backlash. The most likely ally for the Popular Party is Cuidadanos, while the Socialists would probably team up with Podemos.
Analysts predicted a hung result could disrupt the government’s economic reform program, which has helped pull Spain, the fifth-largest economy in the European Union, out of recession.
Spain’s parliament now appears fairly evenly divided between the center right, represented by the PP and Ciudadanos with a combined 163 seats, and the center left represented by the PSOE, Podemos and another leftist party, Izquierda Unida, with 161. Another option, echoing developments in Portugal, would be a coalition of the Socialists, Podemos and Ciudadanos.
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Sanchez, a 43-year-old former university economics professor, was unknown to most Spaniards until he was elected leader last year of the Socialists. At 36, he is the youngest candidate, and his moderate, business-friendly policies plus a pledge to crack down on corruption have attracted voters. Analysts say negotiations to win enough parliamentary support for a new prime minister to be picked could last many weeks – and maybe even trigger another election.
