12th Congress of Deputies
The 12th Congress of Deputies was a meeting of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish Cortes Generales, with the membership determined by the results of the 2016 general election held on 26 June 2016. The congress met for the first time on 19 July 2016 and was dissolved prematurely on 5 March 2019.
12th Congress of Deputies
2015–2016 Spanish government formation
Attempts to form a government in Spain followed the inconclusive Spanish general election of 20 December 2015, which failed to deliver an overall majority for any political party. As a result, the previous People's Party (PP) cabinet headed by Mariano Rajoy was forced to remain in a caretaker capacity until the election of a new government.
Mariano Rajoy being congratulated by PSOE spokesperson Antonio Hernando after his successful investiture as prime minister on 29 October 2016.
Prime minister Rajoy and PSOE leader Sánchez in their post-election meeting on 23 December 2015.
José Manuel Soria was forced to renounce as caretaker industry minister after he came involved in the Panama Papers scandal.
On 22 January 2016, Rajoy announced that he was temporarily turning down the King's nomination after Pablo Iglesias's offer of a coalition government to the PSOE.
