Spain’s King Felipe dissolved parliament on Tuesday and called a new national election for June 26 after a vote in December left such a fractured political landscape that no government could be formed. The new vote follows four months of fruitless coalition talks between Spain’s four main parties after the inconclusive ballot stripped the conservative People’s Party (PP) of acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy of its majority. The re-run is not expected to herald a major shift in voting patterns, opinion polls show, likely forcing bickering leaders to once again try to forge a coalition.
“Let’s hope we’ve all learned our lesson and that the next parliament reaches an agreement (on forming a government) as soon as possible,” speaker Patxi Lopez told a news conference, confirming the king had signed the election decree.
Conducted against a backdrop of economic hardship and with a political elite tainted by accusations of corruption, December’s election marked the end of the dominance of the two traditional parties, the PP and the Socialists, that have governed Spain since its transition back to democracy in the mid-1970s.
Their power base was eroded by the emergence of two newcomers, anti-austerity Podemos (We Can) and centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens).
Full Article: Spain gears up for repeat election on June 26 | Reuters.