Spain Heading for Repeat Election as Sanchez Sours on Podemos

(Bloomberg) --

Spain’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, ruled out a coalition with the anti-establishment group Podemos, signaling he’s preparing for a repeat election in November.

Sanchez said he can’t trust Podemos after talks over a governing alliance broke down before the summer, resulting in his defeat in a confidence vote in July. The premier said he wants Podemos instead to support a minority Socialist government to push through a progressive policy agenda.

“Their vote to block a Socialist prime minister -- for a fourth time -- has gravely accentuated the mistrust,” Sanchez told supporters in Madrid Tuesday. “A coalition government isn’t feasible.”

Sanchez won April’s general election with twice as many seats as his nearest rival but still needs support to form a majority in a divided legislature. He has until Sept. 23 to win a confidence vote. If not, Spain will be heading for its fourth general election in as many years.

At an event that looked more like a pre-election call-to-arms than a pitch to a potential partner, Sanchez presented a list of 370 measures he wants to introduce on issues ranging from the home-rental market to pensions. He said he’s open to giving Podemos some government jobs below cabinet level and wants to resume negotiations Thursday.

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias says he doesn’t trust Sanchez either.

Iglesias argues that the premier failed to live up to his commitments when their parties joined forces to topple conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last year. Iglesias said Tuesday that he had been humiliated by the Socialists when he gave up his claim to a cabinet post to help coalition talks in July. Those talks ultimately faltered as the two sides disagreed over how to divvy up ministerial jobs.

“Politics can’t be based on trust, there have to be guarantees,” Iglesias said in an interview with Spain’s state broadcaster TVE. “A coalition government is the only guarantee that policies can change people’s lives will be implemented.”

Polls released Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 projected that the Socialists stand to gain about 20 seats in a repeat election, while support for Podemos would dip slightly. The results indicated that the two parties together would command an absolute majority. At present, they need extra support from minor parties.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Madrid at rorihuela@bloomberg.net;Thomas Gualtieri in Madrid at tgualtieri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Charles Penty at cpenty@bloomberg.net, Ben Sills, Jerrold Colten

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