Spain elections: Feijóo launches doomed bid to lead country

Despite Feijoo's party winning July's snap poll, his rival Pedro Sanchez remains best placed to form a government

• Explainer: what happened in Spain's snap general election?

Two months after winning July's general election but failing to secure a parliamentary majority, the leader of Spain's conservative People's party (PP) is launching an almost certainly doomed bid to become the country's next prime minister.

Although the PP, led by Alberto Nunez Feijoo, finished first in the snap election, it failed to win enough votes to form a government, taking 137 seats in Spain's 350-seat congress. Despite the arithmetical challenge, King Felipe has asked the party to try to form a government during this week's investiture session, which begins with a day of debate on Tuesday.