(Madrid) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been at the head of an interim government since Tuesday which will remain in office until the country emerges from the political deadlock, the legislative elections on Sunday having failed to produce a majority.
“I declare the dismissal, as head of government, of Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, who will remain in office” at the head of an interim government to manage current affairs “until the new head of government takes office”, indicated the head of state, Felipe VI, in the official journal.
Sunday’s election failed to produce a majority, plunging Spain into a real political headache and raising the specter of new elections.
The People’s Party (PP) of conservative Alberto Núñez Feijóo came out on top, winning 136 seats out of a total of 350 in the congress of deputies, but fell far short of an absolute majority of 176 deputies, even with the support of 33 deputies from the far-right Vox party, its only potential ally.
Claiming the right to govern in a minority as the winner of the ballot, Mr. Feijóo began discussions with several parties on Monday, but his attempts appear doomed to failure, as Vox is a scarecrow for the other parties.
The Basque nationalists of the PNV already told the curator on Monday evening that they did not want to talk to him.
With fewer deputies than the right-wing and far-right bloc, Mr. Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) (122 deputies) and its radical left allies Sumar (31 seats) paradoxically retain a chance of staying in power, as they are better able to win the support of Basque and Catalan parties, which already support their government regularly in parliament.
The biggest challenge for the left will be securing abstention from Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) party, which has consistently opposed the left-wing executive in recent years.
Sumar announced on Monday that he had instructed one of his officials in Catalonia to start discussions with Junts, which has become a kingmaker with its 7 deputies.
If all these conditions are met, Mr. Sánchez could then gather on his behalf 172 deputies, more than the leader of the PP, which would be enough for him during a second vote of investiture, where only a simple majority is required.
The two blocs, however, remain suspended from the counting of ballots for Spaniards abroad, which will begin on Friday and could last several days. According to the press, these ballots could tilt seats to one side or the other in the provinces where very few votes separated the parties of left and right.