Despite electoral setback, Spain's left might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat

Spain's elections on July 23 yielded a surprise result that's left the country without a government for more than 10 weeks now. While the conservative Partido Popular (PP) won the most votes, no clear majority was established. The far-right party Vox also made significant gains, and has established ruling coalitions with PP at the local level. Yet nationally, left and center-left forces have managed to impede a conservative-led government from forming. Now, Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party has been tapped by Spain's king to lead a new effort to form a coalition government. The left might just snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat—but it depends on whether they can rally nationalist Catalan and Basque parties to their side. Professor Bécquer Seguin of John Hopkins University and Professor Sebastiaan Faber of Oberlin College join The Marc Steiner Show to follow up on an explainer they wrote for The Nation about just what on earth is going on in Spain, and what it portends for European politics at large.

Studio Production: David Hebden
Post-Production: David Hebden

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