Spain heads for re-election on 26 June after political parties fail to end deadlock

After failing to reach a coalition deal to end the political deadlock in Spain since the December 2015 elections, the country will now head for a fresh round of polls on 26 June. However, survey results show, and experts believe, that a similar scenario, where no political party enjoys a majority, will prevail even after a fresh poll.

King Felipe VI, who is the president of the Spanish parliament, reportedly issued a statement on 26 April, announcing that he would not propose another candidate for the prime minister's role. "There is no candidate who can count on the necessary support," the king was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Patxi López, who presided over the Spanish legislature in January, confirmed that the country is "heading for the dissolution of parliament and new elections" as there are no chances of a last-minute surprise. The formal deadline for calling a prime ministerial vote in Parliament ends on Wednesday (27 April), he added.

The expected announcement by the king follows a meeting between him and party leaders, including acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative Popular party and Pedro Sánchez, the Socialists' leader.

After failing to win a majority in the December 2015 elections, Rajoy's party opted to stay on the sidelines of the coalition talks hoping for a re-election, while Sánchez succeeded in colluding with the Ciudadanos party in February, but failed to get support from the Podemos party to prove the required majority in Parliament.

The decision to hold a re-election led to a blame game among the political parties, with Rajoy blaming it on the Socialists and Ciudadanos and Sánchez accusing the Podemos leadership for failing to end the political deadlock. Reportedly, the latest survey results show that Rajoy's party will gain from the fresh polls, but is likely to still be short of the absolute majority required to form a government.

Jorge Galindo, a political analyst and editor of the Politikon website, was quoted by the FT as saying that although the new poll will see some parties go up and others go down, there will not be "a clear majority and probably no new coalition options either."