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Spain Socialists reject Rajoy or PP-led government | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez has said he will not support a government led by acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy or his conservative Popular Party (PP). | |
After a brief meeting with the prime minister, Mr Sanchez insisted Spain needed a change of government. | |
"No to Rajoy means yes to change," he said, adding that he did not want fresh elections. | |
The Popular Party won Sunday's vote but fell well short of securing a majority. | |
For decades the Socialists and PP have alternated in government but the rise of two new parties, the left-wing Podemos (We Can) and liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens), has left Spanish politics fragmented. | |
The PP picked up 123 seats - far short of the 176 minimum needed to govern alone - while the Socialists (PSOE) won 90 seats, Podemos 69 and Citizens 40. | |
Shortly before Mr Sanchez went into his meeting with the acting prime minister at Madrid's Moncloa Palace, Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera called for a pact between the three parties. | |
He said they would exclude Podemos, "which wants to break Spain up". | |
Podemos, unlike the others, backs the Catalan nationalists' call for a referendum on independence from Spain. | Podemos, unlike the others, backs the Catalan nationalists' call for a referendum on independence from Spain. |
Mr Rajoy is also firmly opposed to any Catalan referendum on independence, while the Socialists say they are prepared to discuss constitutional reform. | |
Influential deputy | Influential deputy |
Mr Rajoy did not comment publicly after the talks, which were the first to take place since the 20 December election and were described as barely 40 minutes in length. | |
But the Socialist leader was clear: "The PSOE will not support the continuity of Rajoy and the PP because the people voted for change." | |
Mr Rajoy's deputy, 44-year-old Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, has emerged as a powerful figure in the PP but Mr Sanchez's remarks appeared to rule out any compromise involving her becoming prime minister. | |
Ms Saenz de Santamaria took part in the first two election debates on TV, after Mr Rajoy decided not to take part. | |
When Spain's parliament reconvenes in January, King Felipe VI will ask a party leader to form a government and MPs will vote on his nomination. | |
If they fail to elect a government within two months then fresh elections will follow. | |
The election result on Sunday was seen as a rejection of traditional Spanish politics, dominated by the PP and PSOE since the nationalist dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975. | |
The PP's vote took a battering because of a party funding scandal and widespread anger over economic austerity. Spain's 21% unemployment rate remains one of the highest in Europe, and inequality grew after the financial crisis. | The PP's vote took a battering because of a party funding scandal and widespread anger over economic austerity. Spain's 21% unemployment rate remains one of the highest in Europe, and inequality grew after the financial crisis. |
There is speculation that a left-wing coalition government could be formed - along the lines of neighbouring Portugal. But there are serious divisions between the PSOE and Podemos - and together they would still be short of a majority. They might have to woo small leftist parties in the Basque Country and Catalonia. | There is speculation that a left-wing coalition government could be formed - along the lines of neighbouring Portugal. But there are serious divisions between the PSOE and Podemos - and together they would still be short of a majority. They might have to woo small leftist parties in the Basque Country and Catalonia. |
Doing the post-election sums: | Doing the post-election sums: |