The leader of the Partido Popular has failed to secure enough votes to become the next Spanish Premier, reflecting the results of July's general election.
Backed by Vox and the smaller parties Coalition Canaria and UPN, Alberto Feijo secured 172 votes in his favour with 178 votes against- falling four votes short of the 176 needed.
Under Spanish law, Alberto Feijoo gets a second chance at securing a majority. He has to wait 48 hours, but at Friday’s second attempt at the Investiture, the stakes will be changed. He will need to secure a simple majority - meaning he needs more yes votes than No votes - something political analysts think will be difficult to achieve.
Should Alberto Feijoo fail a second time on Friday, it opens the doors for the Socialist leader to try and convince a majority in parliament to elect him as Spain’s next premier. If that were the case Pedro Sanchez would be put forward by the King for consideration in the coming weeks, during which he would need to negotiate with Catalan pro-independence parties while navigating the controversial amnesty for Catalan leaders and activists involved in the 2017 Catalan Referendum.
If no majority is secured, the country returns to the polls next year.