Ties with far-right hinder Spain's Popular Party forming a government despite election win

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Chances to form a government have dwindled for Spain's conservative Popular Party after its election win after two small regional parties refused to lend their support due to the potential presence of the far-right Vox party in the cabinet.

Alberto Nuñez Feijóo's right-of-center Popular Party, or PP, won the most votes in Sunday´s ballot and finished with 133 seats, far short of the 176 majority figure in the 350-seat Spanish parliament.

Feijóo tried garnering support from other parties but the numbers do not add up.

As of Tuesday, he only has the support of ultra-nationalist Vox, with 33 seats and the tiny conservative UPN party, which has only one seat.

On Monday, two small conservative parties — the Basque region's PNV with five seats and the Canary Coalition with one — dealt Feijóo a blow by saying they would not support any government with Vox party members in it.

Meanwhile, focus has shifted toward the radical Catalan secessionist party, Junts (Together), and whether it might abstain should acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez seek parliamentary support to form another leftist coalition government. Sánchez’s government relied on support from myriad small groups for the past four years, but never included Junts. Sánchez's government relied on support from myriad small groups for the past four years, but never included Junts.

His Socialist party and leftist Sumar ally have 153 seats between them and are intent on forming a government should Feijóo fail to.

The 350 newly-elected lawmakers take their seats on Aug. 17 and have three months to vote in a new prime minister. Otherwise, a new election would take place.