Spain’s general election: a country in search of a compromise

Spain held a general election on 26 June, just over six months after the last election in December failed to produce a governing coalition. The vote saw Mariano Rajoy’s People’s Party gain the largest share of seats, but not enough for a majority in parliament. Anwen Elias writes that the result demonstrated the resilience of the country’s two mainstream parties in responding to the challenge from Podemos and Ciudadanos, but that the next government will still need to be based on untried coalition partnerships which will require a high level of compromise.