THE Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Satnets he is from today the head of an interim government that will carry out its duties until the country comes out of the political deadlock, as Sunday’s parliamentary elections did not allow any party to secure an absolute majority.

“I announce the removal, as head of government, of Pedro Sánchez Pérez Castejón, who will remain” head of an interim government that will manage current affairs “until the new head of government takes office,” the head of state, Felipe VI, said in the Government Gazette.

Sunday’s parliamentary elections did not give any party an absolute majority, causing Spain a real political headache and leaving the possibility of new elections looming.

The Popular Party (PP) of conservative Alberto Núñez Feijo came first with 136 parliamentary seats out of a total of 750, but remains far from an absolute majority of 176 MPs, even with the support of 33 MPs from the far-right Vox party, its only possible ally.

Claiming the right to form a minority government as the winner of the election, Feijo began on Monday to discuss with various formations, but his efforts seem doomed to failure as Vox projects as a scarecrow for the other parties.

The Basque nationalists of the PNV already told the conservative leader last night that they do not wish to discuss with him.

With fewer MPs than the right and far-right bloc, Sanchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) (122 MPs) and its radical left allies Sumar (31 seats) paradoxically retain a chance to stay in power as they are more likely to secure the support of Basque and Catalan parties, which have already regularly supported their government in parliament.

The biggest gamble for the left will be to ensure the abstention of Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) party, which has systematically opposed the left-wing government in recent years.

Sumar announced yesterday that it had tasked one of its executives in Catalonia to start negotiations with Junts, which became a regulator with its seven MPs.

If all those conditions are met, Sanchez could gather 172 MPs, more than the PP leader, enough for a second vote in parliament, where a simple majority is required to elect the prime minister.

The two blocs, however, are waiting until the counting of the ballots of Spaniards living abroad, which will begin on Friday and may last several days. According to the press, the counting of these ballots could cause seat swings to one side or the other in provinces where very few votes separate parties of the left and the right.