Catalan separatists could hold key to Spain's electoral gridlock

Spain's Socialist leader and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, accompanied by his wife Begona Gomez, applauds as he addresses supporters during the general election, in Madrid, Spain, July 23, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) - A Catalan pro-independence party could hold the key to unlocking Spain's political gridlock after a national election ended in a hung parliament.

The centre-right People's Party (PP) and the far-right Vox won the most parliamentary seats in Sunday's ballot with a combined 169 - short of the 176 seats needed for a majority despite poll predictions the bloc was on course for an outright victory.