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Spain’s Sanchez gambles on snap election after regional ballot rout

MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election on Monday, in an apparent attempt to wrong-foot his conservative opponents and give his flagging Socialist party the best chance of retaining power before its support weakens further.

Sanchez, who has repeatedly said he wanted to serve a full term, made the unexpected announcement a day after left-wing parties were routed in a regional ballot.

His move to bring the election forward to July from late 2023 took most of his government and even some members of his inner circle by surprise, according to sources close to the prime minister.

But, as conservative opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo called on voters to make him Spain’s next leader, political experts said Sanchez — whose reputation as a political risk-taker is already well established — had bet his rivals won’t be ready to fight a coordinated campaign for the July 23 poll.

Sanchez portrayed Sunday’s crippling defeat as a clear vote of no confidence in his coalition government and said he felt compelled to “take personal responsibility” for the result.

Feijoo’s mainstream People’s Party (PP) won outright control of two regional administrations and could run six more in partnership with farright Vox, whose leader said he was ready to form coalitions with the PP. In all, 12 regions were contested.

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2023-05-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

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