Spain’s Socialists have won the Barcelona mayor’s office after getting help from conservative rivals
By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialists have received an unexpected boost from its main rival in next month’s national elections after his party won the mayor’s office of Barcelona following a tight vote at city hall. Sánchez’s Socialists took a beating in local and regional elections in May when the conservative Popular Party trounced leftist mayors and regional chiefs across the country. But the Popular Party opted during Saturday’s investiture session for Barcelona’s mayor to back the Socialist candidate in order to prevent a pro-Catalan secession party from taking power in Spain’s second-largest city.