Wait continues to see who will govern Spain next

Following the stalemate between parties on the left and right in last month's general election in Spain, the question of who will form the next government is no closer to being answered this week.

With much of the political world on holiday - acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has headed to Marrakech for a few days - it was left to the media to keep interest alive in what happens next. On 17 August, parliament will meet and the public debates on who will be the next PM will start.

Last weekend, the count of the votes of Spanish nationals who had voted overseas was added to the 23 July result, giving one more seat to the conservative PP, the winning party. This has complicated the situation more for the ruling Socialist PSOE. While Sánchez's party is better placed to form alliances and pacts with nationalist and left-wing parties to govern, the loss of a seat to the PP means he now needs a 'yes' vote, and not a mere abstention, from the Junts party of Carles Puigdemont. Puigdemont is wanted in Spain over illegal attempts to gain independence for Catalonia in 2017. He has said the 'price' of his party's support for Sánchez will be very high.