Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the head of the conservative opposition in Spain, warned lawmakers that if he lost a vote to become prime minister later on Friday, Pedro Sanchez would be free to seek re-election.

“Today, I won’t be able to give you a government, but I have given you assurance and hope,” Feijoo told the lower house before his second investiture attempt, for which he only needs a simple majority to be elected, after losing a first vote on Wednesday.

Sanchez, a Socialist who has governed in a coalition with far-left Podemos since 2020, has said he will launch his own investiture bid to form a new progressive government. For that, he will need to woo several Catalan and Basque parties, some of which advocate for their regions’ independence from Madrid.