Political deadlock again: Neither party gains majority in Spain’s elections

The fourth elections in four years have not brought any clear winner among the Spanish party. The ruling Socialists gained 120 seats in the 350-seat parliament and are facing the same problem as after April elections when they failed to form a coalition. The conservative People’s Party came second with 88 seats and more fringe right-wing Vox party came third with 52 seats, up from 24 in April.

Vox’s leader Santiago Abascal said he wanted to build a “patriotic alternative,” although he didn’t go into details.

There should be 176 seat majority is needed form a government. Left-wing  Unidas Podemos got 26 seats and said it hoped for a coalition with the Socialists, but their attempt to unite forces failed in April.

“They’ve paid the price for not reaching the agreement in the past six months because their seat tally has actually fallen,” said independent journalist Martin Roberts who noted the question now is whether they would be able to settle their differences and reach out to many marginal parties.

The turn out was lower this time than in previous elections and as RT’s Charlotte Dubensky explained there’s voter fatigue after so many polls and government impotence.

The voting comes at the background of a standoff in Catalonia, the country’s economic powerhouse, where Madrid is trying to stifle pro-independence movement. The arrest and long jail terms to independence leaders prompted mass demonstrations and riots in Barcelona.