Prime Minister hints at possible election date

During a radio interview on September 3, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, after much prompting, conceded that the general election might take place on December 20.

Initially, he would only state that the election would take place sometime between December 13 and 20 but did eventually say ‘the most likely scenario is that there will be elections in Spain on December 20, but then went on to comment that this is ‘the most likely option.’

There will be difficult decisions ahead for the current government as this is probably the most important election for Spanish Democracy since the death of President Franco. It is possible that for the first time some party other than his People´s Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party may be involved in governing the country.

The rise of both Podemos and Ciudadanos raises the distinct prospect of the first genuine coalition in modern Spanish politics and there is the added difficulty of the regional elections in Catalonia due on September 27 which could even lead to a unilateral declaration of independence from the region.

Later in the interview, the prime minister noted that Democratic Spain had a history of being governed by the party with the most votes cast and he could see difficulties ahead if there was to be a deal between – for example – the Socialists and Podemos to obtain power – if PP received the largest percentage of votes as it was ‘not the best way of respecting the will of the citizens.’

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