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

Spain is facing a hung parliament again as neither the right nor left blocs gained enough votes to form a majority. The right-wing Vox party more than doubled its number of seats, coming in third in the snap election.

The fourth election in four years has not resulted in a clear winner among the parties in Spain. The ruling Socialists gained 120 seats in the 350-seat parliament and are facing the same problem they had after the April election when they failed to form a coalition. The conservative People’s Party came in second with 88 seats, and the right-wing Vox party came in third with 52 seats, up from 24 in April.

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

A 176-seat majority is needed to 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,” and the question now is whether they can settle their differences and reach out to the marginal parties, independent journalist Martin Roberts said.

Turnout was lower this time than in previous elections, and as RT’s Charlotte Dubensky explained, there is voter fatigue after so many votes and government impotence.

The election comes amid a standoff in Catalonia, the nation’s economic powerhouse, where Madrid is trying to stifle the independence movement. The arrests and long jail terms for independence leaders prompted mass demonstrations and riots in Barcelona.

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