Ideally, Spaniards would give Pedro Sánchez’s party a governing majority on April 28th. But that looks highly unlikely
in February to get his budget passed, Spain’s Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, had little choice but to call a snap election. His government, just eight months old, had surprised many by lasting as long as it did. With only 24% of the seats in parliament, but without coalition allies, its every move had been a tricky negotiation. As the country heads to the polls on April 28th, the signs are that the political paralysis which now grips Spain may only worsen.
The pattern is becoming familiar in Europe, where fed-up voters have abandoned the traditional parties of right and left and opted for a plethora of new groups, some on either extreme of the spectrum, others harder to pin down. Political fragmentation has caused protracted delays to the formation of governments in Germany, Italy, Sweden and Estonia in the past year or so. Finland this week looked likely to go the same way after its own inconclusive election.
But that recovery was part cyclical and part the delayed result of painful reforms that Mr Rajoy enacted before his People’s Party lost its majority. Spain faces a number of knotty problems that a weak government will not be able to solve. To sustain growth, it needs plenty more reform: to its schools system, its pensions, its complicated political structure and the labour market, building on Mr Rajoy’s useful work.
The next government must also deal with the crisis in Catalonia, whose regional government declared independence after an unconstitutional referendum in 2017. Mr Rajoy, backed by Mr Sánchez, responded with direct rule. The Catalan government has now been restored, but nine of its former leaders are in jail and being tried on charges likely to result in long sentences. That will shatter an uneasy calm. Catalonia also bedevils the formation of any new government.
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