No government

I am rather concerned that Spain doesn't have a government. It is probably just me because no one else appears to be too concerned. In fact, a Spanish colleague told me that Spain works better without a government! Since the general election stalemate last December, Spain officially has not had a central administration. The prime minister until the last general election, Mariano Rajoy, is acting PM, and as you would suspect he has limited powers. The chances of a new government being formed any time soon are also slim and I still believe that another general election will have to be called. But the political instability has not caused the financial markets or even foreign investment to drop. Spain is moving forward as usual. However, when a new government is appointed there will be plenty of work to do. While unemployment is falling it is still high with about 20 per cent of the Spanish workforce out of a job. Then there is the small matter of Catalonia. The new regional government is actively pushing for a breakaway from Spain. Also, Spain is deeply divided on political lines, hence the stalemate at the general elections. The mainstream socialists (PSOE) and conservatives (Partido Popular) are in decline and the new parties Podemos and Cuidadanos continue to grow. Things are changing in Spain. It will be interesting to see whether a left-wing coalition can be formed but I still believe that a new election will be called some time soon.