Podemos

Spanish voters go to the polls in a general election Sunday that could make Spain the latest European Union member to swing to the right.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its far-left partner, Unidas Podemos, took a beating in local and regional elections in May. Sánchez has been premier since 2018.

Spanish parliament approved Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez as prime minister, according to BTA news agency.

Sánchez's nomination received 167 votes in favour of the 350-member Congress. 165 members of the lower house of parliament voted against and 18 abstained.

Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Spain's leftist Podemos party expressed support for Greek premier Alexis Tsipras as general elections got under way in the country, saying he had "the courage to govern with all Greek and European powers against [him]."

It is not the first time that an election in another country has been used to justify or serve domestic political motives in Greece.

Now the electoral victory of the socialists in Spain and the trouncing of the right-wing People's Party are being exploited ahead of the upcoming electoral races in Greece - general, local, and European Parliament elections.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has welcomed election results in Spain where the governing Socialists won the country's third election in four years.

Spain ended 10 months of political gridlock on Oct. 29 when lawmakers agreed to grant conservative leader Mariano Rajoy a second term as prime minister.

Prime Minister Rajoy won a parliamentary confidence vote, pledging to plough on with his economic policies, despite the opposition blaming austerity in his first term for deepening inequalities.

Spain's King Felipe VI decided April 26 that none of the country's political parties has enough support to form a government, setting the stage for an unprecedented repeat election in June, six months after voters ended the nation's traditional two-party system.

Four lawmakers from Spain's far-left party Podemos and its allies are said Wednesday they are on a week-long hunger strike to try to rally public support of refugees.

The behavior of the MPs of Podemos party in Spanish Parliament is not the one people are used to see and one could say it is quite unconventional.

From their casual outfit and earrings to breastfeeding in public, they have received many negative comments.

Anti-austerity Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias met with Spain’s King Felipe VI and said that he will support a new Socialist government alongside another anti-austerity group, the United Left.