Sanchez Must Fend Off Party Sharks for Podemos Pact in Spain
- Socialist chief starts talks with Podemos on deal to govern
- Party rivals resist alliance with progressive challenger
Leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez gestures during a press conference at the Spanish Parliament, following his meeting with Spain's King on January, 22, 2016. The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party today thanked the leader of the radical left party Podemos, their willingness to form a government with him, saying that first of all they should agree on a political program. AFP PHOTO / JAVIER SORIANO / AFP / JAVIER SORIANO (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)
The route to a government in Spain is becoming clearer, though it remains littered with obstacles.
Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez and his would-be deputy prime minister, Podemos’s Pablo Iglesias, officially broached the issue of forming an alliance for the first time on Sunday night as the chances of Mariano Rajoy’s People’s Party clinging on to power receded.