Nov. 10 (UPI) — The ruling center-left Socialist Party looked ready to win the most seats in Span’s general elections Sunday but will have to find smaller parties to build a coalition government.
With more than 99 percent of the vote counted, the Socialists won 120 of the 350 seats up for grabs in the Parliament, while the conservative Popular Party won 87 seats. The big winner appeared to be the neo-conservative Vox party, led by Santiago Abascal, which more than doubled its seats in Parliament with 52.
The Socialists need 176 seats to form a coalition government.
France’s National Rally Party leader Marine Le Pen praised Vox for its “spectacular advance,” while Italy’s far-right League Party leader Matteo Salvini called attention to the big move as well.
“The speech by a triumphant Santiago Abascal left behind a good sample of the mantras that from now on we will hear a lot more often in Congress,” Lucia Abellan, a political correspondent for El Pais said. “Homeland, nation, and the alleged threat from migrants all form part of the daily discourse of Vox.”
With the conservative parties making such solid gains, it could force to Socialists into months of negotiations with the smaller parties to gain the majority seats needed. It was Spain’s fourth election in four years, where it has not had a stable government since 2015.
