Rajoy Seals Ciudadanos Pact Ahead of Spain Confidence Vote
- Accord brings votes backing Rajoy to 170 versus 176 needed
- Socialists maintain refusal to allow PP government to form
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Spain’s acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sealed a pact with the liberal Ciudadanos party, strengthening his hand going into a round of voting to form a government without guaranteeing victory.
Rajoy’s People’s Party and Ciudadanos reached an agreement to pool votes before a confidence ballot starting Aug. 30, a spokeswoman for the PP said by phone. The accord will allow the PP to count on 170 votes, Rajoy said in a televised news conference. That’s still shy of the 176 votes needed for him to start a second term as prime minister after a first confidence vote.