Spain is heading into an election on April 28 with the divisions created by Catalonia's 2017 breakaway bid still raw — and it's not just the rift between separatists and the state that is shaping this campaign.
Catalan society itself is split down the middle, much like Brexit Britain, and in the rest of the country, tension is boiling between those backing reconciliation and hard-liners demanding that central government wield its power.
Investors will be rooting for a clear outcome and a stable government after more than three years with a paralyzed executive. Yet the Catalan crisis has triggered an outburst of nationalism that has spawned a new party, Vox.
For the first time, Spain has five significant parties to watch — two of them with a populist origin story.
Complicating the process of coalition building is the fact that parties are split along ideological lines, in addition to Catalonia. That has made the position of Ciudadanos, a potential kingmaker straddling both worlds, more difficult.
Here's an overview of the key players.
The Socialists
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's efforts to repair divisions over Catalonia's push for independence has taken up most of his nine-month tenure. His harshest opponents label him a traitor because he needed the separatists' votes to win last year's no-confidence vote.
While in office, Sanchez issued a raft of decrees on socially progressive issues, snatching potential voters from his left-leaning parliamentary ally, the anti-austerity Podemos. They include increasing paternity leave, tracking gender pay gaps and populating his Cabinet with a record number of women.
