Spain's PM floats rolling over budget again due to lack of votes

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez suggested on Wednesday his government could roll over the budget for a second year and start working on a new bill for 2026, as the chances of passing one this year in the fragmented lower house dwindle.

Spain's centre-left minority coalition faces a balancing act in every vote as it weighs concessions to several other parties from across the spectrum that support it on a vote-by-vote basis and which have often opposing demands, such as the hard-left Podemos and centre-right Junts.

Such a balance is even harder to achieve now Sanchez has pledged to increase Spain's defence spending in line with the rest of the European Union, an issue that has split his cabinet.

The government had initially promised to submit a budget bill before the end of the first quarter, but it wants to have secured the support of all its allies before doing so. In the meantime, Spain is rolling over its 2023 spending plan, as it did last year.

However, Sanchez did not completely rule out submitting a 2025 spending plan - which would need to happen before the end of May.

"If we have time to get a budget this year, we will do it, and if not, we'll start working on the 2026 budget," he told lawmakers after announcing he would outline and start implementing a plan to boost the defence sector before the summer.

Sanchez was replying to opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who told the premier he should not leave the parliament without saying if he was going to submit a budget for 2025.

"The budget is the first point of any defence plan," Nunez Feijoo said. He said it should not be seen as normal "to face this context with an expired budget of a majority that no longer exists".

Sanchez has said he could increase defence spending without going through parliament, drawing criticism from the opposition.

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Alison Williams)