Madrid
Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced an uphill battle to stay in power on Monday after his conservatives lost their majority in an election that saw dynamic new political groupings end decades of two-party rule.
For more than 30 years, Rajoy's Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists had alternated power, but millions of Spaniards exasperated with austerity and corruption scandals voted relative newcomers Podemos and centre-right Ciudadanos into third and fourth place.
While it took the largest share of the vote on Sunday, the PP lost its absolute majority in parliament and Rajoy now has the challenge of forming a stable government -- a task that the runners-up were unwilling to make easy.
"On no account will Podemos allow the PP to govern," Pablo Iglesias, the 37-year-old pony-tailed chief of the far-left anti-austerity party told reporters.
The Socialists (PSOE) followed suit, with number two Cesar Luena saying his party would block any government led by Rajoy, whose drastic spending cuts, tax rises and health reforms over the past four years have proved deeply unpopular.
"As far as I know, the PP is going to put forward Rajoy, and so the PSOE will vote no to the PP and Rajoy," he said.
And with the upstart Ciudadanos also ruling out backing Rajoy, the austere 60-year-old premier appears increasingly beleaguered and alienated.
POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY
The outcome of the most-closely fought election in Spain's modern history has plunged the country into turmoil as it was just starting to recover from a devastating financial crisis.
And the prospect of weeks of political uncertainty saw the Spanish stock market slump 2.5 percent in afternoon trade.
Official results showed the PP won 123 seats -- 63 less than in 2011 when it roared to victory with an absolute majority -- with almost 29 percent of the votes.
The PSOE followed with 90 seats and 22 percent of the vote, then Podemos with 69 seats and almost 21 percent, and finally the centrists Ciudadanos with 40 seats or nearly 14 percent.
The results mean parliament will be made up of four main groupings with significant clout, as opposed to the usual PP and Socialists tandem -- putting an end to Spain's traditional two-party system.
In an early bid to soothe concerns, Rajoy had said he would do all he could to form a government, standing on a podium in Madrid marked "Gracias" ("Thank you") and speaking down to cheering supporters.
"Spain needs a government that has the support of parliament," he said.
