El Mundo, Dec. 21, 2015

"Spain knocks down two-party system and leaves the government high and dry," reads the front page of conservative newspaper El Mundo, after Sunday's general election saw the expected rise of newcomers Podemos on the left, and Ciudadanos on the right.

It's a "messy" situation for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, one El Mundo columnist writes.

Despite coming in first, Rajoy's ruling center-right Popular Party fell well short of securing a majority with just 28.7% and 123 MPs (out of 350), meaning it will have to seek support from its opponents if it wants to rule.

The establishment center-left party PSOE was the main loser of the evening, with only 22%. This results, El Mundo writes, leaves the party's leadership with the tough choice of either getting in bed with their age-old right-wing opponents, or leading a coalition of left parties with upstart Podemos, third on 20.6%, and regional independent parties in the Basque and Catalonia regions.

Another possibility highlighted by the newspaper is for Rajoy's party to form a minority government with fourth-ranked Ciudadanos, dubbed the Podemos of the right. This would however likely force a change in leadership, with the newcomers firmly opposed to pro-austerity Rajoy remaining in power.

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