Budget vote exposes weakness of Spain’s minority government

MADRID – A group of Spanish political parties are withdrawing support for the new centre-left government’s budget plans for next year, putting a question mark on the long-term survival of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Left-wing anti-establishment Unidos Podemos and Catalan separatist parties ERC and PDeCAT say they are abstaining on a key Friday vote to pass the government’s caps on spending and public deficit goals for 2019.

Without their votes, the Socialists’ minority presence in the lower house — with 84 of the 350 seats — won’t allow Sanchez’s government to get next year’s budget approved or pass any significant legislation.

That also puts in question the survival of the new government itself, although Sanchez has repeatedly say he wants to exhaust the remainder of his term and call elections for 2020.