Spain’s acting premier launches new bid to take office

Sanchez said Rajoy did not offer anything in the meeting and he tried to paint the Socialists as responsible for the lack of government.

Rajoy also needs the support of the Socialists, his traditional rivals, or at the very least their abstention when he asks for a confidence vote in parliament.

The Socialists have been adamant in their opposition to Rajoy, who they blame for corruption scandals tainting the PP and for the steep public spending cuts imposted by his government.

Ciudadanos, which came fourth in both elections, said on Sunday it would add its 32 parliamentary seats to Rajoy’s 137 in Wednesday’s vote, but this still falls short of the 176 needed for an absolute majority.

Failing that, he would face a second vote on Friday in which he would only need more votes in favor than against.

MADRID-Spain’s acting prime minister warned Saturday that forming a government remained a “wish”, in downbeat comments ahead of a crunch parliamentary vote over the country’s political deadlock.

The acting premier’s allies and opponents get to respond on Wednesday and then vote at the end of the day.

Still, a Christmas ballot would probably help the acting prime minister because PP voters have historically been more likely to turn out than supporters of other parties. “The alternative would be a government of a thousand colors, radical and that could put the unity of Spain at risk”. If he fails this week, he has another two months to rustle up the votes before King Felipe has to call a third election.

The most sensible thing is to dialogue among all those that oppose the PP, stressed the leader after advocating for including in that eventual negotiation the nationalist and Independence formations of Basque Country and Catalonia.

If the parties fail to reach a settlement by the end of October, the timings set out in Spanish election law mean the next election could fall on December 25.

“The greatest damage to democracy is to tell Spaniards that their vote has been useless twice and that elections must be repeated for a third time”, Rajoy said during his failed inauguration speech.