Weekend Economists: See the Kittehs! May24-27, 2013

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81. Could a pair of minority groups spell the end of Spain's two-party system?

http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/05/22/inenglish/1369228317_043995.html


A demonstration by 15-M protestors in Barcelona. / GIANLUCA BATTISTA (EL PAÍS)

The opinion polls all agree: Spain's two-party system is suffering from a kind of burnout that has not been seen in recent years. And the main beneficiaries of the steady decline in voter support for the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Popular Party (PP) are the leftist coalition United Left (IU) and the center party Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD).

IU - which is a veteran association of communists, republicans and environmentalists, and typically garners between three and 10 percent of the vote at general elections - and the UPyD - a newcomer to the political scene, which has been quickly gaining traction on a socially progressive, economically liberal program - are both facing a turning point that will test their organizations, their internal structures and their campaign promises.

A recent simulation of election results conducted by the polling firm Metroscopia showed IU and UPyD obtaining 16 percent and 11 percent of the vote, respectively, more than twice what they achieved at the November 2011 general elections.

Analysts concur that support for Spain's two traditional parties is eroding due to their mismanagement of the economic crisis - first the Socialists, and now the PP - and because of the litany of corruption scandals that are making the news. At the same time, the minority parties are riding a wave of popular demand for a democratic overhaul of the system, promising a different approach and fewer vested interests.