ASSESSMENTS

Elections Won't Unify Spain's Government

Jun 24, 2016 | 09:00 GMT

Spain is holding its second round of elections in six months in the hopes of unifying its government, but the tactic is unlikely to work.

(PABLO BLAZQUEZ DOMINGUEZ/Getty Images)

Summary

After Spain returned to democracy in the late 1970s, two main parties took turns ruling, the center-right Popular Party and the center-left Socialist Party. But a combination of economic recession, rising unemployment, unpopular austerity measures and pervasive corruption scandals dramatically reduced their electoral support. This led to the rise of two new parties, the left-wing Podemos and the centrist Ciudadanos.

What used to be a stable two-party configuration is now an unpredictable multiparty system that in December produced a hung parliament and led to two months of fruitless negotiations over a ruling coalition. On June 26, Spain will hold general elections again, and opinion polls suggest that this vote will yield a similar situation.

On June 26, Spain will hold its second general election in six months, hoping that this time the country's political parties will find enough common ground to form a government. The prospects for a quick agreement on a ruling coalition look dim, however, because the parliament that will emerge from the vote will likely be as fragmented as the one elected in December....

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