Spain’s conservative leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo lost the vote, and now all attention is turned to the Socialist-led bid to form a government, according to CNN.
Feijoo did not get an absolute majority in the second vote on his candidacy in the 350-seat chamber, with 177 lawmakers opposing him and 172 backing him, with one vote invalidated.
In a hectic debate, Feijoo, who lost the first vote on Wednesday, told lawmakers that he knew he would lose a second vote.
I assume that, predictably, I won’t get it. You can call it failure if you want. Today, I won’t be able to give you a government, but I have given you assurance and hope.
If Pedro Sanchez, the Socialist Prime Minister, also fails, the country is likely to hold another general election in January.
Sanchez met with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office in May and earlier this month visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where Spain had sent arms and other aid.
Analysts believe that, having survived the elections on which he staked his career, Sanchez may be the best candidate to renew the coalition government.
