Spanish election: Conservatives win but fall short of majority, exit polls show

[Ghost Dog]

4. Spanish election: national newcomers end era of two-party dominance

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2015, 05:37 AM - Edit history (2)

Spanish politicians are gearing up for what could be weeks of complicated negotiations after Sunday’s general election yielded a deeply fragmented parliament, with the conservative People’s party losing ground to national newcomers Podemos and Ciudadanos.

The PP won 123 seats in the election, with 29% of the vote, leaving them far from a majority in the 350-seat legislature. Led by Mariano Rajoy, the current prime minister, the party has limited possibilities when it comes to the alliances it now needs to form a stable government majority.

The Socialists, who asserted their place as the traditional rival of the conservatives throughout the campaign, came second, with 90 seats and 22% of the vote. With many in Spain still suffering the lingering effects of an economic crisis that sent unemployment rates soaring and triggered painful austerity measures, millions of voters turned away from the PP and Socialists, who have alternated in power for decades, and instead looked to emerging parties.

Anti-austerity Podemos, which was formed in the aftermath of protests following Spain’s financial crisis, finished in third place with 69 seats and 21% of the vote, while the centre-right Ciudadanos won 40 seats and 14% of the vote. “Spain is not going to be the same anymore and we are very happy,” Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias said on Sunday. The PP and Socialists won a combined vote share of about 50%, compared with the 70-80% of past general elections.

Podemos did remarkably well across the country, placing first in Catalonia – where it ran in a coalition with Barcelona en Comú – and the Basque country, a result that suggested widespread support for its campaign promise to hold a referendum on Catalan independence. “Today is a historical day for Spain,” Iglesias told supporters on Sunday night. “Every time there is an election, the forces of change advance.” ...

/... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/20/peoples-party-wins-spanish-election-absolute-majority

/... http://www.lavanguardia.com/

So, coalition politics, inevitably, with a PP-PSOE 'stability pact' possible, also a coalition of the left not impossible, including regional 'nationalist' independently-minded parties of the left. A coalition on the right with an overall majority appears to be impossible. Spanish politics has become "Italianised", it is being said, a not entirely welcome prospect for many... (Spain tolerates but mostly ignores any comparison betweeen itself & Italy). New elections soon are also a possibility. Also, note the very fast manual count of paper ballots...

PODEMOS did very well, better than polls anticipated, and are the true big winners here.

¡VAMOS, PODEMOS!

edit:


/... http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/dec/21/spanish-poll-uncertainty-unsettles-markets-as-oil-hits-11-year-low-live