The count after the election in Spain shows that the conservative party PP is the largest. But they have not managed to get a majority, not even with possible support from the far-right party Vox, as opinion polls had indicated. As a result, Spain could end up in a situation with weeks and months of tug-of-war and negotiations – and in the worst case, another new election. The leader of the PP, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, is very pleased with the party’s progress. He says he will try to gather enough support to form a government, writes the major newspaper El País. At the same time, the ruling socialist party PSOE and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have not given up hope that he can form a majority and retain power. He currently has a majority together with the left party Sumar. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) thanks his supporters at the election vigil in Madrid tonight. Photo: Nacho Doce / Reuters The 350 seats in parliament are distributed as follows when 99.8 percent of the votes have been counted: PP 136 PSOE 122 Vox 33 Sumar 31 The key to power Neither of the two blocs has thus obtained a clear majority, which is 176 seats. The remaining 28 seats are divided into seven small parties. This is where the key to future power may lie. The representatives for these will thus be exposed to both strong pressure and tempting offers in the coming days. Negotiations can be tough. It can also end with a deadlocked situation where no bloc manages to gather a majority. Then it can quickly move towards another new election. THE BIG FOUR: Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), Yolanda Diaz (Sumar), Alberto Nunez Feijóo (PP) and Santiago Abascal (Vox). Photo: Juan Medina/Violeta Santos Moura/Juan Medina/Jon Nazca / Reuters Hopeful Sánchez – The right wing has failed, says the country’s sitting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez. He and the party have made a better choice than critics feared after he announced new elections in May. Voter turnout has been high, and has ended at 70.4 per cent, which is higher than had been feared. Many of the voters show their position with a “pulsera”, writes the BBC. This is a colored bow band that is worn around the wrist. Yellow and red, the colors of the Spanish flag, are a signal that one belongs to the right. Rainbow colors stand for LGBT+ rights, and are also a symbol of the left. The government in Spain was supposed to be in power for another five months. But the Prime Minister dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections in May. By then, the Socialist Party had lost in a number of local elections in important cities such as Madrid and Valencia. Unemployment halved First librarian at the University of Oslo, Jose Maria Izquierdo, believes that much has improved in Spain under Sánchez’s rule. Izquierdo believes that the progress Spain has seen recently will be turned upside down with Vox in government. Photo: Tom Balgaard/news – The Working Environment Act changed the entire working life in Spain. It has managed to halve unemployment in Spain in just two years. He also says that the country’s economy is generally going well, but that ordinary Spaniards have been given worse advice. – If we compare the situation in Spain with countries such as France, Italy, Portugal and even Germany, the situation for the Spanish is much better. – But of course, if you go to the shop to buy food, you don’t think that the Italians are in a worse situation. Vox is a classic populist party, says Søreng-Wold. Photo: THOMAS COEX / AFP Far-right party in key role The largest conservative party in Spain is the Partido Popular (PP). But if the PP is to gain power in Spain, they must have the support of more than the far-right party Vox. At the start of the weekend, Vox was set to become the third largest party in the country. they have become, but the progress is less than expected. Søreng-Wold at the Department of Foreign Languages, UiB. Alejandro Søreng-Wold is a doctoral student at the University of Bergen. He has been to the site at several of Vox’s election meetings recently. – In a global context, one can look to today’s Hungary and Poland, what we call illiberal democracy, as a kind of role model for Vox. – Accusations of fascism are often used when describing Vox, but the party is not explicitly fascist, says Søreng-Wold. – A classic populist party Søreng-Wold explains much of the popularity of Vox with the fact that they have “simple solutions to very complicated problems”. – They are a classic populist party. And when a large proportion of the population is dissatisfied, simple solutions have broad appeal. Søreng-Wold says many Spaniards end up on the streets because of the high cost of living in the country. Photo: THOMAS COEX / AFP He points out that many neighborhoods in Spain are characterized by gang crime. People become insecure. Then it is popular to want to give more money to the police. So is advocating for stricter immigration policies. If Vox ends up in government, it will be the first time Spain has been governed by a nationalist far-right party since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
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