<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The leader of Spain's opposition conservative party Alberto Núñez Feijóo has claimed victory in a snap election, but without the result he needed.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even with the support of the far right, his Popular Party (PP) has fallen short of a majority in parliament.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cheers at the rival Socialist camp were just as loud as Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared: "The reactionary bloc has failed."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While both can claim success, Spain is left with an inconclusive result.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">But Mr Sánchez has been vindicated in his controversial decision to call the vote in the searing heat of a Spanish summer, when election-day temperatures reached 40C in some parts of the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Turnout topped 70%, as voters sensed the importance of the election, breaking off from their holidays to vote in swimwear and with beach gear in tow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"No pasarán," supporters chanted outside Socialist HQ - they shall not pass - referring both to far-right party Vox and the anti-fascist slogan of the Spanish civil war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nonetheless, Mr Feijóo told cheering conservative supporters that it was now his duty to try to form a government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Spaniards know we have gone from being the second force to the party with the most votes," he said, adding: "I hope this doesn't start a period of uncertainty in Spain."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But that is what Spain is facing. Because with Vox on 33 seats and Mr Feijóo's PP on 136, they would be seven seats short of an absolute majority of 176 in parliament, so the most likely result of this election is another poll towards the end of the year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That is why Mr Sánchez's Socialists and his far-left allies Sumar appeared happiest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The reactionary bloc of regression, which set out a complete reversal of all the advances that we've achieved over the past four years, has failed," he told supporters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The right has repeatedly attacked Mr Sánchez because of a badly framed law on sexual consent, as well as reforms on abortion and transgender rights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the opposition also targeted the support he received from Catalan and Basque nationalists, arguing that concessions he made to them threatened Spain's territorial unity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some PP supporters outside party HQ chanted Que te vote Txapote, an anti-Sánchez slogan meaning "Let Txapote vote for you", which referenced a militant who carried out killings for the defunct Basque group Eta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For much of the night the mood among PP supporters had been subdued and celebrations finally picked up when their party overtook the Socialists in the results. As their leader finished his speech, little groups of voters draped in Spanish flags asked each other what would happen next.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These were not victorious activists celebrating. Despite the rhetoric from the balcony above, this felt like an empty win.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One Spanish website, El Español, said that despite the PP's victory, Pedro Sánchez still had a chance of forming a government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But those very slim chances would require going even further than before in securing separatist support. He would also need the backing of a hardline pro-independence party, Together for Catalonia (Junts), which appears unwilling to support him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 70% turnout was higher than in November 2019, despite the summer heat. That was partly due to almost 2.5 million postal votes being cast, but polling stations were busiest in the morning before the heat took hold.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vox remains the third biggest party, with the support of three million of Spain's 37 million voters, but not significantly ahead of Sumar and with a big drop in seat numbers. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>