Spain has voted for the second time this year and once again no clear majorities have been created. Madrid is now a long way from a stable government - and the Catalan issue divides the country further. On the day after the election, Catalan separatists blocked an arterial road on the French border.
They broke the traffic on Monday at the interchange La Jonquera traffic, as a police spokesman told the news agency Reuters. Around 80 people are involved in the action on both sides of the border. The platform "Democratic Tsunami", which mostly operates via social media, claimed the campaign for itself.
After a judicial ban, the organizers of the platform play with the authorities cat and mouse by changing their Internet address. The group had previously coordinated mass protests in Catalonia - including at Barcelona Airport.
Prime Minister Sanchez misses an absolute majority
In the election campaign in Spain, dealing with the independence aspirations in Catalonia had played a central role. There were some violent protests in the region after prison sentences were imposed on separatists.
The socialist PSOE of the incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez remained the strongest force in the Spanish parliamentary elections, but missed the absolute majority in the 350-member House of Representatives but clearly (the results at a glance can be found here).
Because of the increasing fragmentation and polarization of the party spectrum, forming a government is very difficult. Nationalists from Catalonia may turn out to be majority buyers in the parliament in Madrid: Cooperation with them is regarded as a politically sensitive undertaking because of the independence efforts of the region. The situation is compounded by the fact that Vox's right-wing populists more than doubled their seats.
Mayor of Barcelona for broad front of the left
The left-leaning mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has called for the formation of a "broad front" of left-wing parties to overcome the political blockade following the parliamentary re-election in Spain. "Either the left is a broad front, or we're all going to hell," wrote the 45-year-old politician on Twitter.
