Jason MoorePalma26/05/2018 00:00
TW
1

The Spanish government is in deep trouble and it could fall, leading the way for a multi-party coalition. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy iss threatened with no-confidence motions and demands for a snap election over a graft trial involving members of his party in which a judge cast doubt on his testimony. The Socialists are preparing to call a no-confidence vote which could lead to the fall of his government as it doesn't have an overall majority. A snap election is being called for by Ciudadanos, the new centre-right party which is rapidly seen as a party of government.

Rajoy and his government are against the ropes and I can't see how they will survive unless he performs the biggest "Great Escape" in Spanish politics. The crux of the problem for the Partido Popular is corruption. The image of the party has been tainted by corruption cases up and down the country. Rajoy himself has been caught up in the Gurtel scandal which relates to the use of a slush fund by the conservatives in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns. He has always denied wrongdoing. Rajoy has said that he will not be calling a snap election because he would probably lose as a result of the new strength of Ciudadanos. A coalition of the socialists and Ciudadanos is a distinct possibility.

Rajoy will be fighting for his political life over the coming weeks and months but the clock is ticking. His government is in serious danger of falling.