Spain’s Socialists are struggling to recover power

THE PRESIDENT of the Basque Country, Iñigo Urkullu, said it best. As Pedro Sánchez tries to return as Spain’s prime minister, Mr Urkullu said he would need “all the votes of all the parties all the time”.July’s elections left no party alliance with a majority. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the centre-right People’s Party, failed in a parliamentary vote to be installed as prime minister on September 29th. That leaves Mr Sánchez with a request from the king to try to forge a majority of his own. But Mr Sánchez’s Socialists and a left-wing ally, Sumar, are even farther from a majority than Mr Feijóo was. They need the support of five regional parties that want independence from Spain.