Spain faces fresh polls as premier says no hope of forming government

Madrid (dpa) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Thursday he has given up hope of forming a government before a deadline runs out on May 2.Rajoy, who leads the conservative People‘s Party (PP), said he would inform King Felipe VI at the beginning of next week that he did not have a sufficient majority in parliament to govern.Rajoy blamed socialist leader Pedro Sanchez for failing to form a grand coalition with the liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens) party and the newly formed left-wing populist Podemos (We Can) movement."The problem is that he [Sanchez] doesn‘t want it," Rajoy said in the central town of El Toboso. He had earlier tweeted a call to Sanchez to renew talks on the grand coalition.Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera suggested the conservatives, socialists and liberals should join forces to choose an independent for the role of prime minister, but Rajoy and Sanchez have rejected the idea.May 2 is the constitutional deadline for a prime minister to be elected and start to form a government following the elections in December.The four largest parties have failed to form a working coalition since the inconclusive result.King Felipe will lead a new round of consultations with the parties on Monday and Tuesday. If the talks are unsuccessful, the monarch is expected to announce fresh elections on June 26.