Inconclusive Spanish Elections Usher In Period Of Political Uncertainty

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid on December … “We are heading for very long negotiations since the two blocs are virtually tied”.

But the political instability provoked a drop Monday in Madrid’s stock market, with shares on the IBEX 35 falling 2.8 percent in early trading before a slight recovery, the BBC reported.

“Spain needs a government that has the support of parliament”, he said.

“Many want an agreement that leads to the election of a prime minister, but they know it will be hard. At worst, Spaniards might have to head to the polls again soon”.

“This result will likely usher in weeks of political uncertainty, as the various parties try to hammer out a working arrangement in a country that has a limited history of multi-party government”, said Eurasia Group analyst Federico Santi. At the same time, he stressed that voters had made clear their desire for change. “We’re playing with Spain’s stability”, said Fernando Martínez Maíllo, of the PP’s executive, who said the Socialists needed to be “responsible”. This is the beginning of a new, multi-party era in Spain.

Meritxell Batat, the leader of the Socialist party (PSOE), said: “We will not facilitate the formation of this government and therefore we are going to vote no to the investiture of Mariano Rajoy precisely because we are the alternative to the Popular Party”. Ciudadanos (which translates as “citizens”) came fourth in the highly fragmented election and is regarded as Rajoy’s closest ideological partner.

“It’s a new political stage with new rules and more actors”, he told Onda Cero Monday. After Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular won but without a majority, Iglesias has called for constitutional reform focusing on five points: proportional electoral law, “protecting” social rights, guaranteeing the “right to decide” and a referendum on Catalonian independence, an independent judiciary, and an end to the “swinging doors” between the political world and large enterprises.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis and a raft of corruption allegations against the establishment parties, Podemos and Ciudadanos emerged to challenge their hegemony, mirroring the disruption of traditional politics in many western democracies, from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the United States to Alexis Tsipras in Greece and France’s Marine Le Pen.

A minority PP government would be technically possible but unlikely due to the strong left-wing vote, as would be a grand coalition between the PP and the Socialists, which both parties vehemently ruled out during campaigning.

That sentiment is echoed by the anti-austerity newcomers, Podemos.

Rivera said a left-wing coalition of up to 11 parties would not be viable.