Despite the victory of the Partido Popular with 137 seats (the postal vote count has given it one more seat, 137, at the expense of the PSOE, which is left with 121), Nuñez Feijóo is far from the 176 needed to be able to govern Spain, even if a coalition with Vox, which won 33, were to take place. If those 170 votes were added to those of UPN (1) and Coalición Canaria (1), Nuñez Feijóo would have the backing of 172 MPs (four short of the absolute majority, which is 176), one more than the left-wing bloc, which would have 171 seats with the PSOE (121), Sumar (31), ERC (7), EH Bildu (6), PNV (5) and BNG (1), which is already seeking the support of Junts per Catalunya, the party of the fugitive Puigdemont (fled to Waterloo) which with its seven seats can decide who takes over the government in Spain.
“The final count has caused a change in the seats in Parliament that is relevant to the investiture equation (…) The president of the government can only be elected if he has the positive vote of a very broad coalition, including the seven votes of Junts per Catalunya,” Puigdemont said on his Twitter account. The former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia has warned that Sánchez will only have the support of Junts per Catalunya in the eventual investiture if an agreement is reached on the Catalan “conflict” in a negotiation without “pressure” and without “political blackmail”.
Faced with such nonsense, the election winner has written a letter to the acting president, Pedro Sánchez, asking for an urgent meeting this week. A meeting that Pedro Sánchez has refused until the King designates a candidate for the presidency. Meanwhile, the envoys of Sumar, EH Bildu, and ERC negotiate the support of the fugitive Puigdemont for the PSOE. As the socialist leader of Castilla La Mancha has acknowledged, the result of the 23J elections is “diabolical”.
