(Bloomberg) — Spain is headed for its fourth election in as many years in November after acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez failed to muster the support he needs to stay on in the role.
King Felipe VI concluded there was no candidate with enough support to form a government and instructed the parliament speaker not to put the name of anyone forward, the royal family’s office said in a statement on its website. The decision means Spain is now headed for elections on Nov. 10, Sanchez said in a televised statement.
“Spaniards have said twice that Spain is progressive and wants to move forward,” Sanchez said. “I ask them to say so again even more clearly.”
Spain has become increasingly ungovernable since the conservative People’s Party lost its majority four years ago amid a flurry of corruption scandals. With the Catalan push for independence and the financial crisis helping to splinter the political map, Sanchez failed to piece together a majority despite winning almost twice as many seats as the second-placed PP in last April’s election.
While the economy continues to outpace other major euro-area economies, growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter and the political gridlock leaves Spain with no clear direction as Catalan separatists plot further unrest, the U.K. looks to be heading for a no-deal Brexit and global trade disputes are increasing.
Sanchez, 47, had failed in a first bid to form a government in July when talks with Podemos collapsed.
A new ballot would offer the Socialists the chance to boost the number of its parliamentary seats from the 123 it has now. Even if they fail to reach the 176 deputies needed for an outright majority, Sanchez is betting he will emerge with a stronger hand in negotiating support from other parties. Recent polls show an increase in Socialist support.
The party had been negotiating for months with Podemos, which had initially demanded cabinet posts under a formal coalition. Although Sanchez at first signaled he was willing to offer Podemos some ministerial posts, he later backtracked, arguing that a lack of trust made a formal partnership impossible.
Podemos’s leader Pablo Iglesias accused Sanchez of obsessively pursuing absolute power by taking Spain to new elections. He “is committing a historic error of huge dimensions,” Iglesias said on Twitter.
The Socialist leader said a government with Podemos would not have worked because of disputes over power and policy. “Spaniards need a stable and conherent government, not a compartmentalized government paralyzed by its own contradictions,” he said.
Sanchez took power last year when he ousted then-Premier Mariano Rajoy of the People’s Party in a no-confidence motion backed by Podemos and medley of other groups including Catalan separatist parties.
At the head of his own precarious government, Sanchez was forced to call elections for April this year after he failed to pass a budget. Sanchez has said that Podemos should allow him to govern because his political program is progressive and includes many policies the party supports. Podemos and its allies won 42 seats in April’s vote.
(Updates with comment from Sanchez from second paragraph)
To contact the reporters on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Madrid at [email protected];Thomas Gualtieri in Madrid at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Charles Penty at [email protected], Ben Sills, Todd White
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