Spain Socialists Concerned About Delay in Forming New Government

(Bloomberg) -- Spain’s Socialists are starting to worry about their chances of lining up the political support they need to form a government before August.

“This isn’t ‘Game of Thrones,’ what we ask for is responsibility,” Adriana Lastra, the Socialists’ spokeswoman, said in an interview with state broadcaster Television Espanola. Lastra said she’s concerned that the anti-austerity Podemos party may be looking for an excuse not to support acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s bid to form a government as soon as next month.

Two months after general elections, Sanchez is still struggling to firm up the backing he needs to ensure he can win parliamentary approval to form a new administration. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias suggested Wednesday that it might take until September to seal an accord with the Socialists to back Sanchez’s bid to stay on as prime minister.

Sanchez will also need the support of other parties, potentially including the pro-Catalan independence ERC, to ensure he can remain in his post.

Lastra said she was left asking herself if the latest comments from Podemos showed that the party is looking for an excuse to delay the launch of a left-wing government. “I hope the answer is no,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Penty in Madrid at cpenty@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Andrew Blackman

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