Spain's government on Monday officially set December 20 as the date for parliamentary elections and said the new parliament would convene on January 13, according to dpa. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative People's Party (PP) said in a statement that Spain had experienced one of the most intense legislative periods since the country returned to democracy four decades ago. That included passing a 2016 budget last week. Rajoy said he was proud that Spain had overcome a "very delicate situation in record speed" in the past few years. According to recent surveys, Rajoy's PP has about 25 per cent favourability among voters, about the same as the Socialist Party. The liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens) Party, which lies just behind the two leading parties in favourability, can at least hope to become the third political power. Further back is the leftist party Podemos (We Can). It is, however, descending and received only about half as much support as it had at the beginning of 2015. Spain has the eurozone's fifth-largest economy. After the collapse of the real estate sector, the country was forced in 2012 to borrow about 41 billion euros (45 billion dollars) from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund to bail out its banks. The budget passed last week prompted EU warnings that the plan risked running afoul of Spain's fiscal commitments to Brussels. The European Commission said that it expects the country's new government to submit updated budgetary plans "as soon as possible" after the December elections. The new Spanish government that emerges from the election will be able to make changes to the budget.
