For weeks in the buildup to Spain’s snap election, it had seemed a foregone conclusion that a coalition of rightwing parties would win, potentially opening a door to power for the far-right Vox party. Instead, the outcome led to a hung parliament dominated by the conservative People’s party, and the socialist party of the current leader, Pedro Sánchez.
Madrid-based illustrator Federico Yankelevich’s depiction, on the magazine’s cover this week, of a fascist eagle casting a shadow over Spain’s flag sums up the anxieties felt by many in the country: “The values of the old Catholic national morality hovering threateningly over Spanish democracy,” as he put it.
It looks like that threat might have passed – for now, at least. With the makeup of the next administration unclear, Madrid correspondent Sam Jones sets the scene for the likelihood of weeks of coalition negotiations.
Europe community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam asks why Vox, having seemingly reached the brink of government, instead had its vote collapse. And there’s a reminder from Europe correspondent Jon Henley of the wider far-right political threat that still hangs over the continent.
Extreme weather continued to cause havoc around the world this week, with a particular focus on wildfires. As thousands of tourists were evacuated from Greek islands on one side of the world, we also hear from exhausted volunteer firefighters who have been battling blazes for weeks in Canada.
You’ll find several outstanding longer reads in this week’s edition, not least Guardian opinion writer Nesrine Malik’s heartfelt lament for Khartoum, the city of her birth, as civil war continues to rage in Sudan.
Then, in a change of pace, Tom Lamont charts the rapid demise of the classic British fish and chip shop, a national institution under siege from soaring food and energy costs.
Last but not least, in the Culture section the former Observer writer Ed Vulliamy visits Kyiv to meet some of the musicians spearheading a fierce cultural resistance against Russia’s military assault on Ukraine.
