Voters in Sunday’s regional elections in Andalusia gave Podemos 15 seats and its fellow upstart Cuidadanos (Citizens) received 9.
Both the new parties gained representation for the first time in Andalusia.
People in the region expressed their dissatisfaction with the traditional parties.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party plummeted to 33 sears, after holding 50 from the 2012 elections.
The opposition Socialists failed to gain a majority. The 47 seats it won were 55 short of what was required for a majority.
It appears that the Socialists will be obliged to get the backing of at least one other party to retain control of the region which it has governed since 1982.
Before the election, the party’s leader, Susana Díaz, recognised the need to make pacts after the election, but ruled out any deal with Podemos or the Popular Party.
Podemos said it would put any agreement with another party to a referendum with its registered supporters.
Cuidadanos leader Albert Rivera has said his party’s support of the Socialists depends on a clean-up of corruption.
Two Socialist former leaders are implicated in a judicial probe, along with more than 250 politicians, union reps, and businessmen, into fraud of some €1.2 billion of public funds.
Juan Manuel Moreno, the PP leader in Andalusia, admitted that it was a disappointing result for his party. “The citizens have sent us a message; we have to be capable of dialogue.”
The electorate consists of 6.5 million people eligible to vote in a region where unemployment is some 34%.
Comments
Spain seems to have the same problem as Portugal - a two party state, governing in turn - and able to rely on their opponents to cover up their wrongdoings. I think many people in Spain will welcome Ciudadanos and Podemos.
Where are the equivalent parties in Portugal? Nowhere. No wonder that Peter Rabbit always looks so smug.