Pablo Iglesias of Podemos - the real winner of the election?

Pablo Iglesias of Podemos - the real winner of the election? | Europa Press

Andrew EdePalma20/12/2015 00:00
TW
0

It had been anticipated before today's election, and now it is clear: the Partido Popular, as expected has obtained the greatest number of seats in Congress but its majority has disappeared. PSOE has performed better than the opinion polls had suggested but has still lost seats. Ciudadanos, expected to have been a potential coalition partner of the PP, have not done nearly as well as the opinion polls had indicated. It is Podemos who are the real winners today, with around twenty more seats in Congress than had been forecast.

So, what does it all mean? Pretty much what it meant prior to the election, with the principal change being that Podemos, if there are to be kingmakers, is in this role rather than the C's.

What may now become signifcant is the role of the minor and regional parties, such as the Basque PNV, but the election gives no clear signal as to how the next government will be formed. What is sure is that - at this election at any rate - the two-party PP/PSOE system has been undermined (as we knew it would be). The speculation and the negotiations now begin.

As of half midnight, and with almost all the votes counted, the PP has 123 seats, PSOE has 90, Podemos 69 and the C's 40.