Political divide widens in Spain as nationalist party surges in popularity

MADRID — Spain looked set Monday to endure many more months of political uncertainty after the country’s fourth election in as many years reflected a widening political chasm between parties on the left and the right.

After Sunday’s national vote, no party has a clear mandate to govern and a far-right party has become a major parliamentary player in Spain for the first time in decades.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s left-of-center Socialists won the most seats — 120 — but fell far short of a majority in the 350-seat chamber and will need to make deals on several fronts if they are to govern.

Right-wing voters, meanwhile, flocked to the far-right Vox party, giving it 52 seats to become parliament’s third-largest party, behind the Socialists and the conservative Popular Party, which surged back to win 88 seats.

Vox’s surge and the gains by the Popular Party capitalized on Spanish nationalist sentiment stirred up by the Socialists’ handling of the secessionist movement in the northeastern region of Catalonia.

On the streets of Madrid, many people were scratching their heads over what would happen next.

“I think we are worse than before, we are more divided,” said Antonio Prados, a 44-year-old police officer. “I don’t know, there’s a possibility to form a government, but I don’t know how they will come up with the numbers.”

Sanchez called the election after he failed to gain enough support to form a government after the previous election in April — but won three fewer seats Sunday than seven months ago.

Andrew Dowling, an expert on Spanish politics at Cardiff University in Wales, said Sanchez’s plan to come out with a stronger mandate had backfired.

“The Spanish Socialist party made a major miscalculation in calling new elections,”...