Inconclusive Spanish Elections Create More Doubts as Parties Scramble to Form Government

Sunday’s general election in Spain fell far short of breaking the political deadlock left by the last election cycle six months ago as the results from the polls indicate another hung parliament as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was unable to secure the necessary amount of votes for his Partido Popular (PP) and will now be forced into contentious negotiations to form a ruling coalition.

With 100 per cent of the vote counted, the results gave the PP 137 seats in the new parliament, 12 more than the received in the December poll.

Sunday’s results undoubtedly strengthened the position of the ruling conservative PP and Rajoy but did little to break more than six months of political deadlock that began with an inconclusive poll in December.

The PP now faces the same challenge it did six months ago in trying to form a government. It needs support from a number of other parties to achieve a voting majority.

In its post-election assessment, the BBC said Rajoy has little chance of forming a cohesive coalition government, which will most likely lead to further deadlock for the rest of the year.

The one silver lining from Sunday’s vote may have been the resuscitated calls for bipartisanship in the Spanish parliament, which, in the months leading up to Sunday’s poll looked unlikely as the competing parties.

The left-wing Podemos and right-wing Ciudadanos parties finished third and fourth, respectively, largely due to a general sense of fatigue and anger directed at the two main parties - PP and Spain’s Socialist party, known as the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE).

The establishment parties have been blamed for having failed to resolve core economic issues, including one of Europe’s highest unemployment rates and nearly eight years of zero growth in the economy.

Voters’ general distrust of the PP and PSOE was further exacerbated after a series of corruption scandals involving both parties rocked the Spanish political establishment.

Sunday’s results, however, appear to indicate that Spanish voters were less-inclined to hand over the country’s legislative and executive powers to parties with no history of governance and a more radical political agenda.

The PP, in particular, openly used fear tactics to appeal to moderate voters.

In its post-election assessment, Spain’s largest national daily El País said, “Rajoy’s message of fear against the “radical” Unidos Podemos (a coalition of the left-wing Podemos and Izquierda Unida parties) has worked. The UK’s Brexit vote also offered last-minute support for Rajoy’s call for moderation against the siren songs of populism.”

The Financial Times echoed this sentiment, saying the Brexit vote likely encouraged voters on the left to switch their support from more radical leftist parties to the mainstream PSOE.

The potential formation of a government will most likely hinge on the PSOE. A natural option would be to unite with its ideological allies in the Unidos Podemos coalition, but this option is no longer viable given that the left-wing parties did far worse in the polls than in December.

The PSOE would be forced to enter into negotiations with Ciudadanos, whose centrist policies are in direct contrast to the traditionalist leftist platform that serves as the foundation of a Unidos Podemos/PSOE alliance.

The smaller regional parties with enough sway in the parliament are out of the question due to their support for Catalan and Basque secessionism.

A PP-led minority government will have to hope the Socialists either abstain or vote for Rajoy’s coalition building efforts, an arrangement that would leave the Spanish government dangerously precarious state.

A third election is also unlikely as the PSOE fears being punished at the ballot box because for its inability to come to terms with the PP.

Some parliamentarians have floated have suggested that the legislature look into major constitutional reform to change how the prime minister is chosen.

The coming weeks will be critical for Spain as the increasingly urgent political situation has begun to threaten the stability of the country - Europe's fifth largest economy. In the last seven months no laws have been passed, new budgets approved and private investment has been paralyzed.

In the wake of Britain’s decision to withdraw from the EU, the fallout in Europe will be particularly felt in the economies with significant investment deals with the UK, including Spain and Portugal.

Further political paralysis in Spain could spark an even greater crisis in the country as Catalan nationalists could use the current infighting among Spain’s political parties to further their demands for full independence from Madrid.

By the GT Staff

Photo: Reuters