Spain votes in ‘second round’ local, regional EU polls

Spain voted in local, regional and European elections yesterday seen as a “second round” for acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as he seeks to form a new government and gain influence in the EU. The polls come a month after general elections on April 28 in which Sanchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) came first but fell short of a majority in parliament.

He is hoping the party will perform well on Sunday so he can opt for his preferred plan of forming a minority government with the support of other parties on a case-by-case basis when passing laws. But he will also be looking to the European Union, where Sanchez has emerged as the big hope for European social democrats, the second largest bloc in the European parliament. Turnout at around 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) stood at around 35 percent, or 11 points more than at the same time during the last EU elections in 2014, but hardly more than seen in Spain’s city and regional polls in 2015.

The fact that the polls coincide with EU elections has probably boosted turnout, said electoral official Miguel Angel Oliver. Spain could be the only major EU member state with socialists coming out on top in the European parliament elections. On Friday, outgoing Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, whom Spain could push to become the next EU foreign policy chief, told supporters that Sanchez was going to “lead the resurgence of social democracy in Europe”.

In a sign of Spain’s increasing assertiveness in the EU and as Sunday’s polls neared, the government on Friday reacted strongly to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation. “Under these circumstances, a hard Brexit appears to be a reality that is near impossible to stop,” Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa warned as May’s resignation appeared to pave the way for hardliners to take over.