
The polls had it wrong. The ruling conservative party in Spain won a much stronger plurality than expected on Sunday with 33 percent support. Surveys had given it 28 to 30 percent.
Even more surprisingly, the mainstream Socialists defended their leadership on the left, beating the anti-establishment Podemos party into third place.
The polls had shown the two neck and neck with some predicting a Podemos victory over the Socialists.
In the end, Podemos won 71 seats, exactly the number it did in December, while the Socialists got 85, down by five.
That means there’s no real chance of an all-left government. Read more “Rajoy Vindicated, Grows Party in Spain’s Reelections”