Spain’s conservative candidate loses his bid to become prime minister

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s conservative candidate Alberto Nunez Feijoo definitively lost his bid to become the country’s next leader after a second vote on Friday.

He needed a simple majority of votes in Spain’s parliament, but, as was expected, the 177 votes against him outweighed the 172 votes in his favor.

Spain’s King Felipe VI now has two months to designate a new candidate, who will, with all certainty, be Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Given Sanchez’s willingness to negotiate with separatist parties, which emerged as kingmakers after the July election, his left-wing bloc always had a better chance at forming a government.

The king gave Feijoo the first chance at forming a government because he won the most votes, even though the right-wing bloc, including Vox and the Popular Party, fell well short of a majority.

But Sanchez’s negotiations with the Catalan separatists have encountered a fresh roadblock.

On Friday, the Catalan Parliament ratified a text urging the main separatist parties to avoid supporting Sanchez unless he commits to “working towards making the conditions for a [independence] referendum possible.”

The Socialist Party leader in Catalonia Salvador Illa emphasized that his party, led by Sanchez, will not accept a referendum.

“If we have to repeat elections, we will,” he said.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said the referendum would not form part of the negotiations for now. Instead, the Catalans had been demanding amnesty for political leaders facing charges from the 2017 independence push.

Spain is no stranger to repeat national elections. Between 2015 and 2019, voters had to go to the poll four times.

Meanwhile, the political environment in Spain is becoming increasingly tense.

On Friday, Socialist politician Oscar Puente, who represented his party during this week’s debate on government formation, was physically attacked by a passenger while taking the train to Madrid who was shouting about Catalan separatists.

Santiago Absacal, the leader of Spain’s far-right party Vox, also made a veiled threat during Friday’s debate.

“Amnesty is an aggression against the Spanish people, who have the right and duty to defend themselves. And when they do, don’t start crying,” he said.

Sanchez remained silent throughout the hours of debate this week, previously calling it a waste of time.