Spain’s PM faces no-confidence vote

Mariano Rajoy’s tenure as one of Europe’s longest-serving prime ministers is hanging in the balance, with the opposition Socialists close to winning enough support to push through a no-confidence vote

Pedro Sánchez:Leader of centre-left Socialist party (PSOE), brought no-confidence motion after High Court handed long jail terms to dozens of people linked to ruling People’s Party (PP) in long-running corruption trial

PSOE, with just 84 seats in 350-seat parliament, needs backing of leftist Podemos party and smaller groups, including Catalan pro-independence parties and Basque nationalists

Rajoy’s minority government has struggled after inconclusive elections in 2015 and 2016, and is under fire for perceived inability to solve secession crisis in Catalonia

PSOE 84

Podemos 67 

Catalan independentists: 17 (ERC 9, PDeCAT 8)

Basque nationalists: 7 (PNV 5, Bildu 2)

Others: 5 (Compromis 4, Nueva Canarias 1)

Absolute majority: 176

Partido Popular (PP) 134

Ciudadanos “Citizens”: 32 Centre-right party, riding high in many polls thanks to hard line on Catalan separatism, is pushing for immediate elections  32

Others: 4


POSSIBLE SUPPORT: 180  
AGAINST MOTION: 170


Sources: Congreso de los Diputados, Reuters, FT Pictures: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS