Spain’s Ruling Party Disappointed in Regional Ballot
Source: New York Times
Spain’s Ruling Party Disappointed in Regional Ballot
By RAPHAEL MINDER
Published: March 26, 2012
MADRID — The governing Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suffered disappointment on Sunday when it failed to win an absolute majority in elections in Andalusia, Spain’s most populous region.
The Popular Party won 50 of the 109 seats in the regional assembly of Andalusia, against 47 seats for the Socialist Party, according to official results. To gain an absolute majority, however, the Popular Party needed 55 seats. The outcome leaves the door open for the Socialists, who have controlled Andalusia for 30 years, to continue in government there if they can secure the support of another left-wing party, United Left, which won 12 seats on Sunday.
Coalition negotiations will also be required in Asturias, a northern region, after the conservative vote was split in a separate election there on Sunday between a party formed by the region’s current leader, Francisco Álvarez Cascos, and the Popular Party.
A clear victory in Andalusia would have given Mr. Rajoy’s government a broader mandate to pursue economic reforms at a time when it has been struggling to impose greater fiscal discipline on the regions, as part of efforts to clean up public finances and meet budget deficit targets established with the European Union. Instead, Mr. Rajoy faces the prospect of further tussling with a Socialist-run government in Andalusia that already said earlier this month that it would not stick to a new regional deficit target set by Mr. Rajoy.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/world/europe/popular-party-in-spain-fails-to-win-majority-in-andalusia.html?_r=1&ref=europe
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