Turkey’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its absolute parliamentary majority for the first time since sweeping to power in 2002, and with it Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition for greater power by changing the constitution to become an executive president.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-turkeys-elections-akp-loses-absolute-majority-thwarts-erdogans-bid-for-executive-presidency#.VXWss2Sqqkp

Spain’s two-party system is not dead, as predicted, but it took a beating in municipal and regional elections where the upstart parties, the leftist anti-austerity Podemos and the centrist market-friendly Ciudadanos, made big inroads into the ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists (PSOE), which between them have dominated political life for more than 30 years.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=%2Felcano%2Felcano_in%2Fzonas_in%2Fcommentary-chislett-anti-establishment-parties-make-gains-spain-elections#.VWMrV2Sqqkq

Spain stays in 11th position in Elcano’s Global Presence Index.
Podemos ideologue quits frontline politics, party moves towards the centre as support wanes.
Higher growth, stronger job creation and balanced budget in 2015-18.
Spain leads the world in WEF’s tourism competiveness ranking.
Volkswagen to invest €4.2bn in its Spanish plants.

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/506d8a80486f57c6ad03bf7939ebc85f/117_InsideSpain_ElcanoNewsletter.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=506d8a80486f57c6ad03bf7939ebc85f

The overwhelming victory of Mustafa Akinci in the Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus presidential election raised hopes of progress finally being achieved in reunifying the ethnically divided island, split since Ankara’s 1974 invasion which was in response to an Greek-engineered coup seeking union with Greece.

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-northern-cyprus-presidential-victory-revives-hopes-of-reunifying-the-island#.VT5xW2SeDGd

Madrid and Caracas in dust-up over political prisoners.
Rodrigo Rato detained in tax fraud probe.
Bank of Spain upgrades growth to 2.8%, IMF follows suit with 2.5%.
ACS wins €1.85 billion Canada bridge contract.

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/bbbc96804818c83bb61ff68072069ee2/116_InsideSpain_ElcanoNewsletter.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=bbbc96804818c83bb61ff68072069ee2

http://www.blog.rielcano.org/en/conflictive-centenaries-armenian-genocide-gallipoli/

After a lean period Spanish companies have returned to acquiring firms abroad, in another sign of the economy’s quickening recovery and increased business confidence.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-spanish-companies-in-new-wave-of-acquisitions#.VRROGDvF-iY

Highlights: Felipe González to defend jailed Venezuelan opposition leaders; Socialists hold onto Andalucía in new political landscape; Bank of Spain intervenes in Andorran bank following US accusation of money laundering; Foreign direct investment in Spain up by 10%.; Banco de Sabadell to buy UK’s Lloyds TSB.

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/40c76c0047c5b2bf9139bf72bea93c13/115_InsideSpain_ElcanoNewsletter.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=40c76c0047c5b2bf9139bf72bea93c13

Spanish banks are conquistadores. In the latest drive to conquer banks abroad, Banco de Sabadell has boldly offered €1.7 billion for TSB, the UK retail bank carved out of the ailing Lloyds Banking Group two years ago.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-spanish-banks-internationalisation-sabadell-offers-to-buy-uks-tsb#.VQmOi2TF-iY

The far left anti-establishment Podemos (‘We can’) is not the only party that is challenging Spain’s discredited two-party system that has given the country stable governments for more than 30 years.
The centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens’ Party) is rapidly gaining support outside of its Catalan base.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-ciudadanos-gains-ground-in-spains-new-political-landscape#.VP4C7WTF-ib