April 27, 2016•Update: April 28, 2016
By Alyssa McMurtry
MADRID
Spain’s King Felipe VI on Tuesday said no party had the support needed to form a government, paving the way for an election in June, six months after December’s inconclusive vote, according to a statement from the royal household.
Felipe said two days of meetings with party leaders had failed to produce a viable government to take control of the 350-member lower house of parliament by Monday’s constitutional deadline.
Parliament is expected to be dissolved on Monday and an election called for June 26.
The king met the heads of the conservative Popular Party, the center-left Socialists, the far-left Podemos party and the business-friendly Ciudadanos party in a bid to find someone to form a coalition.
Since the Dec. 20 general election, which was marked by the emergence of newcomers Podemos and Ciudadanos, Spain’s traditional two-party system has been paralyzed.
Earlier Tuesday, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez proposed an alliance with Podemos and Valencian regional party Compromis but failed to gain the confidence of both Podemos and the king.
Recent surveys show little has changed since December. If Spanish voters were to go to the polls again, there would still be a minority government according to an April 22 poll by Sigma Dos.
The electorate seemed frustrated by the deadlock. A recent editorial by leading Spanish daily El Pais blamed the lack of government on “a mix of weak leaders and partisan interests, together with the lack of ambition of a project for Spain.”
