Spain was plunged into political uncertainty Monday a day after Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s conservative Popular Party narrowly won the country’s national election but without securing the parliamentary majority needed to topple the five-year-old coalition government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The result means Feijóo can’t claim outright victory, though he told his supporters he would try to form a government. That process is likely to take weeks or even months as Sánchez may also be able to secure support from smaller parties to form a governing coalition. A new election could also be called.
Expectations that Santiago Abascal’s far-right Vox party would perform well enough to prop up a Feijóo-led government did not materialize. Vox’s campaign was fueled by anti-immigration messages. The party attracted support by calling to repeal gender violence laws and slamming feminism. Vox took a beating in the vote.
