Spanish general election ends in deadlock as no bloc can form a stable government

The snap election called by Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has produced a deadlocked parliament, with neither Sánchez nor opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo having won a majority, nor does either have a clear path to forming a majority coalition.

It would seem that the next step will be a second election, to confirm whether Sánchez's social-democratic PSOE or Feijóo's conservative PP will lead the next government.

After this election, it is the PP who have overtaken PSOE to be the largest party in the Spanish parliament.

BBC coverage is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-66278516

Running election totals (in Spanish) from RTVE here: https://resultados-elecciones.rtve.es/generales/2023/congreso/

Reply 1

Wired_1800

Congrats to Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

Reply 2

DSilva

Given the right and far right were widely predicted to get a majority, this is good news.

Reply 3

Rakas21

Good to see that the Spanish right won the plurality (though they are pretty wet).

VoX are extremely hostile to our interests in Gibraltar so if PP can govern a centrist coalition, we should accept that.

Reply 4

DSilva

Original post by Rakas21

They don't have the numbers for a coalition. There will be another election.

Reply 5

Rakas21

Original post by DSilva

They don't have the numbers for a coalition. There will be another election.

I was thinking more of a grand coalition to exclude Vox. .

Reply 6

Saracen's Fez

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by Rakas21

I was thinking more of a grand coalition to exclude Vox. .

I think the question here is whether Sánchez feels it's worth submitting to a coalition under the PP – Spain being a country where this arrangement is without precedent, unlike, say, Austria or Germany where there's a strong tradition of it – or if he thinks he has a decent chance in a second election or that opposition would be better. He's shown a certain readiness to chance his arm calling the snap election in the first place, and it's probably paid off for him about as well as it could reasonably have.

Reply 7

SHallowvale

Have PP ever said they could work in coalition with Vox? If they would rule out a coalition then the chances of them being the leader of a government seems slim, unless they form a grand coalition with the left.