Election leaves Spain in political disarray with no party having an easy path to form a government

MADRID (AP) — Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after a general election a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government.

The uncertainty deepened as both of Spain's two main parties indicated that they hope to take power. The only sure thing seems to be that the country faces weeks, perhaps months, of political negotiations and possibly a new election to sort out the mess.

Here's a look at what happened and what might unfold in the next few months.

_____

A BITTER VICTORY FOR THE OPPOSITION

Alberto Nuñez Feijóo 's right-of-center Popular Party, or PP, won the most votes and finished with 133 seats. But contrary to nearly every preelection opinion poll, it fell far short of the 176 seats a party needs to secure a majority in the 350-seat Spanish parliament.

Even if it joins forces with the extreme right party Vox, which garnered 33 seats, it won't reach that threshold.

In a nutshell, the PP’s decision to consider forming a coalition with Vox didn't pay off with voters.

With its stated intention of ousting Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez now far from certain, the PP insists that as the first-placed party in the ballot it has the right to form a government.

The PP has urged the Socialists to abstain in a parliamentary vote and allow the party to take power. But such a scenario is highly unlikely given the traditional animosity between the two groups.

Taking office as a minority government would also leave the PP fighting for its survival on nearly every piece of legislation it introduces.

Besides Vox, the PP has few friends in parliament.

COULD THERE BE ANOTHER LEFTIST COALITION?

Despite all predictions, Sánchez has an outside chance of staying in office....