Spanish Socialists insist not to support Rajoy gov't

The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez, repeated that his party will not support acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's attempts to form a coalition government in the wake of the June 26 general election, according to party sources.

Although Rajoy's Peoples Party "won" the election claiming 137 seats in the 350 seat Congress, that is still a long way short of the 176 needed for majority and Sanchez's words open the door to Spain continuing without a government over the summer and perhaps even for a third election.

"Rajoy should look for other allies," said Sanchez in his speech at Saturday's meeting of the PSOE's Federal Committee of regional leaders, adding that "Rajoy should not count on us" to support him.

The Socialists won 85 seats in the election and their abstention in an investiture vote would allow Rajoy to form a minority government if the PP were able to reach agreement with center-right force Ciuidadanos, who won 32 seats, but Sanchez remained true to previous declarations in which he insisted the PSOE would not aid the PP "either actively or passively."

Sanchez said the PSOE would "carry out firm and responsible" opposition "as an alternative to the right wing", and commented that Rajoy should look for "other allies, among which he will not have the PSOE."

Rajoy could still reach a majority, but as well as Ciudadanos he would also need to reach agreement with either Basque or Catalan nationalist parties, although that is unlikely given his government's rejection to the Catalan independence movement. Endit