The new politics ends in muddle as a weary country prepares to vote againLast December’s general election was supposed to give Spain – weary of austerity,fed up with scandals and tired of incumbents who seemed to own been around too long a political new start. But the paradoxical result of the rise of two parties promising fresh approaches to the country’s problems has been paralysis, not forward movement. After months of squabbling and manoeuvring, or King Felipe final week gave up his efforts to persuade the politicians to agree on a coalition which could rule the country,and there will now be new elections in late June.
The awkward arithmetic of the December vote meant that a coalition would only be possible if principles were sacrificed to practicality by one or more of the players. The trouble is that the compromises explored in the attempts to form a viable coalition diluted the very message which excited voters in December – that deals and fixes would become things of the past – yet the failure to agree confirmed the contrasting view that politicians were putting their own interests before those of the country. If there were an easy way out in the shape of the new elections then that could be a solution, but the polls propose that although there will be some shifts in the share of votes, or the next vote may well lead to another deadlock.
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Source: theguardian.com