MADRID — Spain’s king on Tuesday asked Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to form a workable government after an inconclusive December election in which the conservative Popular Party came in first but failed in more than a month of efforts to drum up enough support for a coalition government.

King Felipe VI made the decision after meeting with Sanchez and with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who heads the Popular Party.

Sanchez now faces the difficult task of trying to negotiate with two new upstart parties that made big inroads with voters upset with austerity, high unemployment, and government corruption.

The election smashed Spain’s traditional two-party system in which the Popular Party and the Socialists have alternated running Spain for decades. The Popular Party won the most votes this time but got only 123 seats in the 350-member lower house of parliament, losing the absolute majority it held.

The far-left Podemos came in third in the Dec. 20 election and the business-friendly Ciudadanos finished fourth — taking seats from Socialists and the Popular Party.

Associated Press