Socialists hope to govern alone as all sides dismiss potential Cs coalition

Spain's acting vice-president Carmen Calvo has said that the Socialists intend to remain a minority government despite needing support from other parties to secure parliamentary approval.

The Socialist Party (PSOE) comfortably won Sunday's general election with 28.7% of the vote and 123 seats in Spain's congress of deputies, but was left 53 short of an overall majority.

The fragmented result, with five parties each winning more than 10% of the vote, has raised the prospect of PSOE agreeing a coalition with left-wing Podemos, which would require support from smaller parties, perhaps including pro-Catalan independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC).

Alternatively, PSOE could form a majority by reaching across to center-right Ciutadans, though that is complex politically as both sides would have to break pledges not to work together.

However, Calvo believes the result is sufficient for the Socialists to "stick with the same formula" that they adopted in the 10 months since coming to power by winning a confidence vote.