Spain's ruling Socialists have sealed victory in the country’s general election but failed to win a majority, amid unprecedented gains by the far-right.
Pedro Sanchez’s party received 29% of the vote and will need to negotiate an alliance with left-wing Podemos and regional parties, or the centre right, to form a government.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The results signalled the end of “Spanish exceptionalism”, says The Guardian, referring to its supposed “immunity” to the far-right.
The party’s popularity is rising because “traditional politics is fragmenting”, says CNN, while Sky News adds that voters have become “disillusioned as the country struggled with a recession, austerity cuts, corruption scandals”.
It was a disastrous night for centre-right Popular Party. Once a leading force in Spanish politics, it suffered its worst election ever, managing just 66 seats, down from 137 in the previous parliament.
The centre-left Catalan ERC was the winner in Catalonia, with a projected 15 seats. Its leader, Oriol Junqueras, who is in prison facing trial for declaring independence in October 2017, expressed his gratitude for the million votes his party received.
Attention now turns to coalition negotiations. Sanchez has stated that his only conditions are that partners must respect the constitution and promote social justice.
Spain’s interior ministry said that turnout was more than 75% in the country’s third general election in four years, well above the average in the previous 12 elections since Spain returned to democratic rule.
Spain is the only western European country that has not yet been governed by a coalition government. However, in recent years it has had minority governments shored up by parliamentary alliances.
-
5 fairly vain cartoons about Vanity Fair’s interviews with Susie WilesCartoon Artists take on demolition derby, alcoholic personality, and more
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Codeword: December 20, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
