Madrid, May 29 (BNA): Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called snap national elections on Monday and his main conservative rival urged voters to make him the country’s next leader after left-wing parties suffered a heavy defeat in a regional poll.
Reuters reported that Sanchez, who has repeatedly said he wants to serve a full term in office, is portraying Sunday’s defeat as a clear vote of no confidence in his coalition government.
Alberto Núñez Viejo’s Mainstream People’s Party (PP) won full control of two regional governments and could run six more in partnership with far-right Vox, whose leader Santiago Abascal said he was ready to form alliances with the PP. In total, 12 regions were contested.
Sanchez, who said he felt compelled to “take personal responsibility for the results,” announced national elections on July 23.
He had said earlier that the elections would be held in December, towards the end of Spain’s rotating presidency of the European Union, which begins on July 1.
Sanchez said he now needed to “get clarification about the wishes of the Spanish people, clarification about the political direction the government should take, about the political forces that should lead the country through that phase.”
“I think it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people,” he said in a televised address that surprised even some of his political allies and members of his inner circle.
Sunday’s results suggest that the People’s Party and the far-right Vox party could unseat Sanchez and his Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) if they repeat that performance at the national parliamentary level.
“The earlier (the elections), the better,” Figo told a news conference, asking voters to give his party a “clear majority” to run the country.
“I ask the Spaniards to make me the next prime minister of Spain,” he said, adding that he had informal talks with Fox about the outcome of Sunday’s election.
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