Meanwhile, in Spain:
Centre collapses, far right surges, traditional right gain ground, far left and traditional left stand ground. Inconclusive elections are the new normal.
Grand coalition ruled out as far right surges
Spain’s governing socialist party has ruled out a grand coalition with its arch-rivals, the conservative People’s party (PP), after a deadlocked election marked by a surge in support for the far-right Vox party.
After winning the country’s fourth general election in as many years but again failing to secure a majority, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) also rejected any return to the polls, saying yet another election would be “an institutional failure”.
The PSOE won 120 seats on Sunday – three fewer than in the inconclusive election in April. Its leader, Pedro Sánchez, the acting prime minister, appealed for his opponents and rivals to “act generously and responsibly to unblock the political situation in Spain”.
The PP finished second with 88 and Vox came third, more than doubling its seat count from 24 to 52.
The anti-austerity Unidas Podemos came fourth with 35 seats, followed by the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left with 13 seats.
The centre-right Citizens party tumbled to sixth place, dropping from 57 seats to 10, which prompted the resignation of its leader, Albert Rivera.
As predicted in pre-election polls, Vox, which was founded by disgruntled PP members six years ago, vaulted into third place, buoyed by the collapse of the Citizens vote and by its aggressive opposition to Catalan independence.