For the past 10 months Spain has been without a government as two sets of elections have failed to produce a conclusive result. Finally the stalemate has been broken as Partido Popular leader Mariano Rajoy was elected Prime Minister on Saturday with a simple majority, due to the abstention of the PSOE delegates.
Rajoy will , therefore serve a second term of office, despite the growing unpopularity of his party due to corruption scandals and austerity measures. The PSOE ( Socialist Party ) has itself been embroiled in bitter and divisive policy disagreements and has seen its leader Pedro Sanchez ousted due to his refusal to allow delegates to abstain. The two newly emerging parties Podemos and Ciudadanos were ultimately unable to agree on potential coalition partnerships with either of the two traditional parties and it now appears that the new government will have its work cut out in trying to introduce an overdue budget which is required to reduce the budget deficit , lower the unemployment rate of 19% and prop up the public pension fund.
