Sanchez Wins Spanish Vote But May Need Help From Separatists

Prime minister in pole position to claim a second term
Socialists still need to line up more partners for majority

Sanchez may still have to rely on the Catalan Separatists to govern. Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern reports.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jeannette Neumann

April 28, 2019 at 8:03 PM UTC

Updated on

April 29, 2019 at 7:41 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Socialist Pedro Sanchez is set to return as prime minister of Spain with his left-leaning allies close to a majority, though he may still rely on Catalan separatists to govern.

The Socialists won 123 seats in Sunday’s election, up from 85 in 2016. Its left-wing ally Podemos has another 43 seats while the Basque Nationalists, another group likely to support Sanchez, has six. That would give Sanchez 172 seats. He needs 176 for a majority.