PSOE in trouble, what opportunities for PP?

Preliminary results from Spain's election show that Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's PSOE party (center) may have difficulty forming a new government. (Source: AP)

On July 23, Spain held an early general election. With 99.5% of the votes counted, no party or coalition won an absolute majority in the country's parliament. Specifically, the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez won 122 seats and its ally, the far-left Sumar Party, won 31 seats.

Meanwhile, the opposition People's Party (PP) won 136 seats, 47 more than in the previous election in 2019. With 33 seats, the far-right Vox party remained the third largest force in the National Assembly despite winning 19 fewer seats than in 2019.

With the above preliminary results, no party will win an absolute majority (176 seats) in the Spanish Parliament.

Speaking after the results were announced, Prime Minister Sanchez declared PSOE's victory: "The old coalition, which wanted to completely cancel all the progress we have made in the past four years, has failed."

For his part, PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo declared that his party had won and was ready for dialogue to try to govern the country.

Expert Jose Ignacio Torreblance of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) said it is possible that PP could form an alliance with Vox to win enough seats in the National Assembly to form a new government .

However, the party will have to make some policy concessions to the far right. Many voters, even PP lawmakers, now believe that Vox is not a suitable partner in any governing coalition.

Meanwhile, despite winning fewer votes than the PP, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's ruling PSOE party still has a chance to form a new government if it continues to maintain its coalition with the Sumar party.