No government

This is a not a new problem and it has affected the two mainstream parties, the right-wing Partido Popular and the left-wing, Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) for years. Rewind to three years ago and the Partido Popular of Mariano Rajoy were winning elections but without a majority. They tried to form a coalition but it all ended in tears so another election and the same problem again. Then Rajoy was toppled by socialist leader Pedro Sanchez and now he has the same problem; the socialists are winning but without a majority. Sanchez has been trying to form a coalition for months but so far, nothing.

There is a strong possibility that Spain will have to have another general election but the outcome will be the same; victory without a majority. To be honest Sanchez, who is the acting Prime Minister, is in the same boat as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His hands are tied and he has nowhere to go. The majority of people in Spain don’t want another election so if Sanchez can’t form a government the task may fall to the opposition Partido Popular. Could they form a government? There is a possibility that they could join forces with the centre right Ciudadanos and the far right Vox; a similar coalition already governs Andalucia. Sanchez may have won the election but there is a possibility he will be out in the cold.