Spain's Socialists face parliament vote to form government

Spanish lawmakers on Wednesday debated a bid by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to form a new government which looks almost certain to fail an evening parliamentary vote.

Sanchez's Socialists, which came second in an inconclusive general election on December 20, face a confidence vote after conservative acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy passed him the baton last month.

Sanchez appealed to lawmakers on Tuesday to join in an alliance to oust Rajoy's Popular Party (PP), in power since 2011, arguing Spain voted decisively for change in last year's election.

He said a Socialist-led government would enact a series of progressive measures such as a minimum wage increase and a gender wage-gap law, and stressed that all sides would need to accept compromises since no single ideological group has enough seats to form a majority in parliament.

"Why don't we unite to form a government for change? Why don't we get together and pass as many reforms as possible to solve the most urgent problems of Spaniards?" he asked the assembly.

To win the confidence vote Sanchez needs to win an absolute majority in the first round of voting in the 350-strong lower house of parliament. The vote is expected after 8 pm (1900 GMT).

But barring any unexpected changes of heart, he only has the support of centrist upstart party Ciudadanos giving him just 130 votes -- not enough to see him through.

Rajoy told parliament his PP, which came first in the general election winning 123 seats but lost its absolute majority, would vote against Sanchez, saying he "is incapable of forming a government".
"And above all because you plan to eliminate what was achieved in Spain throughout these past four years which prevented this country from needing a bailout, start to create jobs, improve its competitiveness and grow economically," he added.

Spain's economy rose 3.2 percent in 2015, one of the fastest rates in Europe, although the unemployment rate remains high, at 20.9 percent.

- 'Stop obeying oligarchs' -

Rajoy gave up attempts to form a government after he failed to get support from other groupings fed up with years of crisis-sparked austerity and corruption scandals plaguing his grouping.

So King Felipe VI asked runner-up Sanchez, whose Socialists scored their worst result in history with just 90 seats out of 350, to form a government.

After weeks of negotiations and ping-pong televised statements, he sealed a deal last week with Ciudadanos, which came fourth in the elections with 40 seats.

But Podemos, which with its 65 seats would be a valuable partner for Sanchez, immediately suspended talks with the Socialists over the agreement, which it considered too liberal.

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias also said his side would not support Sanchez, accusing him of proposing policies similar to those enacted by the PP which benefit the rich.

"Stop obeying the oligarchs, Mr. Sanchez, stop listening to the siren calls that lead to a shipwreck," he said.

Sanchez, a 44-year-old career politician dubbed "El Guapo" ("Mr. Handsome") for his good looks, has another chance on Friday in a vote in which he would only need more votes in favour than against.

If he fails in both votes, Spain will be plunged into uncharted territory.

It would be the first time since the country returned to democracy following the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975 that the candidate designated by the king did not get enough backing from parliament to form a government.

A two-month countdown will then start from March 2, during which the wildly diverging parties will try once again to come to an agreement to govern Spain.

Failing that, new elections will be called, most likely on June 26.

Recent polls suggest that Spain's four main parties would obtain roughly the same result as they did in the December election.
SourcE: AFP