Spain’s political freeze starts to bite

The circus of Spanish politics shows no signs of stopping. For now, the country is managing to weather this eight month-long deadlock surprisingly well: Spain’s GDP growth has continued at one of the fastest rates in the eurozone. But this is in spite, rather than because, of Spain’s zombie government. A record-breaking tourist season has helped, as has a jump in consumer spending. Yet finally, the cracks are beginning to show; and the impasse crippling Spanish politics – which now looks set to lead to the increasingly-likely prospect of a third election on Christmas Day this year – is starting to take its toll.

So what’s the hold up? If you’re looking for who to blame, you needn’t look beyond acting conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy and socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, who are emerging as the main obstacles to ending Spain’s political freeze. Dithering Rajoy has refused to step down over deep-set corruption that has put his entire party under investigation. There