Spain’s Premier Vows to Avoid a Snap Election, Despite Defeat

(Bloomberg) -- Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to avoid a new general election, which would be the country’s fourth in as many years, and will work toward building a coalition which has so far remained elusive despite two parliamentary votes.

“I’m not going to throw in the towel,” Sanchez said in an interview late Thursday with Spanish news channel Tele 5. The four main political parties need “to reflect on what happened and unblock this situation,” he said.

Sanchez’s bid to become Spain’s premier fell short in Thursday’s parliamentary ballot, his second defeat this week, after his Socialist party failed to iron out the conditions for a tie-up with the anti-austerity group Podemos. The loss starts the constitutional clock ticking toward possible new elections in November.

The stalemate will prolong Spain’s political uncertainty as the country continues to recover from the ravages of the financial crisis. And adding to the turmoil, the country is still in a state of deep angst over the unresolved issue of Catalonia, which wants to break away from the kingdom.

Over a two-month period, Sanchez can in theory continue his efforts to secure a majority and go back to parliament, if invited to do so by King Felipe VI. If he fails, the king would dissolve parliament and call new elections.

Sanchez’s Socialists had been trying to garner the support of Podemos to cobble together a majority in the assembly. Even though they abstained in the vote, Podemos, led by Pablo Iglesias, left open the possibility of continuing to try to find a way to work together.

“I assume my duty,” Sanchez said in the interview, adding that the right-wing parties, the People’s Party and Ciudadanos, must help break the deadlock. “And my duty is to form a government. I will speak to the other parties.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Madrid at rorihuela@bloomberg.net;Charlie Devereux in Madrid at cdevereux3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Chris Reiter

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.