Parliament: Spain’s king resumes government formation talks

King Felipe VI continued its consultations with various party leaders in Spain on Tuesday to form a new government. At the end of the two-day talks, the monarch wanted to receive the acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from the Socialist Party PSOE and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo from the conservative People’s Party PP in his residence in the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid in the afternoon. He could then commission one of the two to form a government.

Whether and when that will happen, however, is completely open. Roughly a month after the early parliamentary elections, neither Sánchez nor Feijóo have enough support from other parties. When voting in the House of Commons, the candidate appointed by the head of state in Spain needs an absolute majority of at least 176 votes in the first round. In the second ballot, a simple majority is sufficient.

Victory, but little chance

Feijóo’s PP clearly won the July 23 election, but fell short of expectations with 137 seats. His possible coalition partner, the right-wing populist Vox, had also lost 19 seats and now only has 33. According to the media, a candidate Feijóo would therefore have little chance in the vote in the lower house. But it could be that Felipe will nominate him as a candidate because of the election victory.

Sánchez, meanwhile, are given more chances than his rival. In addition to support for the left-wing alliance Sumar and several smaller regional parties, the socialist also needs an agreement with the Junts party of exiled Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont. Junts, however, have so far called for an independence referendum, which Sánchez is likely to reject. Should no government be formed, there would have to be another parliamentary election in the fourth largest EU economy, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency, at the end of the year or at the latest at the beginning of next year.