Spain has been in political limbo since December. Two parliamentary elections have scattered votes among four main parties, which have been unable to negotiate a governing coalition. The latest failure came on Sept. 2 when parliament voted 180 to 170 to reject Mariano Rajoy’s bid for a second term as prime minister. The parliament has until Oct. 31 to choose a prime minister or it will be dissolved and a new parliament will be elected in December. Mr. Rajoy’s chances to win on another try before that deadline improved somewhat after his principal opponent, Pedro Sánchez, resigned on Oct. 1 as leader of the Socialist party. Mr. Sánchez had insisted on blocking Mr. Rajoy’s election, but the Socialist party was divided on the issue.
