Taken together, the seats won by the PP and Ciudadanos, its natural ally on the right side of the spectrum, amount to 163 and still fall short of majority. The Spanish general electi…
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Tsipris and his Syriza party are allies of Spain’s far left Podemos, run by pony-tailed political science professor Pablo Iglesias.
Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) has won the Sunday general elections, getting 123 seats in the country’s parliament and 28.72 percent of the popular vote after over 99 percent of all votes have been counted.
Days or weeks of negotiations may be needed to determine who will govern Spain, with the new far-left Podemos and business-friendly Ciudadanos parties producing shock waves because of strong support from voters tired of the political status quo.
The PP is thought to have won 114-124 seats in the 350-strong parliament, some 52-62 seats short of the 176 seats needed for an overall majority.
The new challengers, Podemos and Ciudadanos, have campaigned on a promise to end the hegemony of the corruption-tainted established parties and, in different degrees, to reverse the cutbacks that Rajoy has implemented to pull Spain out of an economic crisis that led it to seek a bailout for its banking system.
“This result confirms Spain has entered an era of political fragmentation”, said Teneo Intelligence analyst Antonio Barroso.
In the general election in Spain, the conservative popular party has (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday lost its majority.
Meanwhile, left-wing parties gained ground in the vote and were close to winning an absolute majority although an alliance between those groups which differ on economic policy or on the degree of autonomy that Catalonia should enjoy will not be easy to agree on.
Rajoy and his party are seeking a second term after ousting the Socialists in a landslide in 2011.
It should be the party with the most seats – the People’s Party – that should try to form the government first, the leader of the Socialist Party Pedro Sanchez said.
“Reaching a deal between the Socialists, Ciudadanos and Podemos is not going to be straightforward… but if the alternative is leaving the country without a government, the pressure will be on the parties”. Another option, echoing developments in Portugal, would be a coalition of the Socialists, Podemos and Ciudadanos.
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Hundreds of supporters for leftist newcomer Podemos gathered at a theatre in Madrid cheered at the exit polls, which showed the barely two-year-old party coming third in number of seats and actually beating the traditional left-wing faction PSOE in percentage of vote. But the jobless rate, at more than 22 per cent, remains one of the highest in the western world, and there are mounting concern over inequality and the dearth of well-paid, stable jobs, especially for young Spaniards.
