Popular Party (PP)

Spain's Pedro Sanchez said Monday he would stay on as prime minister after threatening to stand down over what he denounced as a campaign of political harassment by the right.

"I have decided to stay," the 52-year-old Socialist leader said in a highly-anticipated public address that drew a line under uncertainty that had gripped Spain for five days.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his right-wing rival will each begin negotiations Monday to try to head off a fresh vote after an inconclusive snap election resulted in a hung parliament.

Defying polls that for months had written him off as defeated, the Socialist premier managed to curb the gains of the right-wing opposition.

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and opposition leader Pablo Casado of the Popular Party (PP) have agreed to open up a permanent communication channel on the issue of Catalonia, where the independence drive has deeply divided the region.

Madrid's city hall announced Dec. 28 it had ordered half of most private cars off the roads to fight a particularly bad bout of pollution, a first in Spain.

Spain's leader Mariano Rajoy, who kicks off a second term after months of political paralysis, formed a new cabinet on Nov. 3 that looks set to maintain controversial economic reforms and cement EU ties.

Regional elections in Spain on Sept. 25 strengthened acting Prime Minister's Mariano Rajoy's conservatives and weakened the Socialists, under pressure to let him form a government and end a months-long political impasse, AFP reported. 

Weary Spaniards will head back to the polls for the second time in six months after King Felipe on May 3 called fresh elections for June 26, which surveys suggest may result in yet another hung parliament.
 

Spain dealt a blow to bi-party politics Dec. 20 in historic elections that saw the incumbent conservatives score an uneasy win tailed by the long-established Socialists and upstart, far-left Syriza ally Podemos.

Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party (PP), led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, won the highest number of votes in Sunday's general election but fell short of outright majority in the 350-seat parliament, newswires reported.

According to exit polls, PP won 122 seats while it needed at least 176 needed for a parliamentary majority.

Two newly-established parties are set to shake the status quo in Spanish politics as citizens are casting ballots in a general election on Sunday.

Most polls show ruling Popular Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has a narrow lead.