Spanish elections on April 28th: From the pendulum to the pentagon

For the third time since December 2015, the Spanish will renew the "Cortes" (Congress of Deputies and Senate) in the Sunday 28 April 2019 elections. The chambers were dissolved early due to the failure in February of Pedro Sanchez's government to have his draft budget approved for 2019. The Spanish political landscape, which had already changed significantly with the emergence of two new parties in the middle of the decade after more than 30 years of alternation between the left and the right, has continued to change with the appearance of a fifth party at the far-right. While the balance of power was already very complex, the rise of the far right has challenged the historical hegemony of the right-wing People's Party, as Podemos in its day shook the Socialist Party on the left. In a still changing landscape, we look at the factors that led to expectations of the call for elections and the institutional challenges of these elections. We then provide an overview of the political forces. Then, after identifying the various possible results based on the latest available polls, we look at the factors that could potentially block or significantly delay a new prime minister being appointed by the Congress members.