- No Clear Victor in Spain’s Election, Leading to Political Paralysis
- Conservative Popular Party (PP) Wins Election, But Fails to Oust Socialist Prime Minister
- Negotiations for Coalition Agreements Begin, Possibility of a Hung Parliament Looms
In a nail-biting conclusion to Spain’s election, there was no clear victor, as the right failed to achieve the victory predicted to unseat Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
After an unexpected general election, right and left parties have no obvious path to creating a new government, signifying political stalemate in Spain.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) won the election, but its expectations of achieving a much larger victory and ousting Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez were not realized.
As of early Monday morning, with 100% of votes tallied, the PP held 136 seats in parliament, while Mr. Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) held 122 seats.
Both lacked the 176 required seats to govern.
Participation increased to 70.40 percent from 66.23 percent in the previous 2019 general election.
In pursuit of a governing majority, the two leading parties will now attempt to negotiate coalition agreements, but analysts warn that the process could result in a hung parliament and another election.
Pre-election polls projected a larger victory for the PP, commanded by Alberto Nunez Feijoo, and the possibility of a coalition between the PP and the far-right Vox party.
Vox and Sumar, the most likely kingmakers, had 33 and 31 seats, respectively.
As the results rolled in, the mood outside the PP headquarters shifted from jubilation to anxiety, as the margin between the PP and PSOE remained narrow.
As the night continued, one PP fan said, “This isn’t looking good.”
At the Socialists’ offices, senior officials grinned, and a supporter in the corridor screamed, “We were dead, but now we’re alive!”
After May’s local and regional elections, Mr. Sanchez called for early elections.
Since assuming office in 2018, Mr. Sanchez’s tenure has been marked by crisis management, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic repercussions to the political turmoil that followed Catalonia’s failed independence bid in 2017.
His minority cooperation with radical parties led to liberal laws on euthanasia, transgender rights, abortion, and animal rights.
The right-wing parties, who accuse Mr. Sanchez of betraying and destroying Spain, have resolved to reverse these modifications.
Mr. Feijoo, who has never lost an election in Galicia, has used his tenure to present himself as trustworthy.
