The strain in Spain lies mainly on the plain folk

As Ireland manages to avoid another election, Spanish voters face the prospect of returning to the polls

Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy Pic: Getty

An open microphone has damaged many a political career. Last February, still three months before new elections were called in Spain last Tuesday, prime minister Mariano Rajoy was heard to tell David Cameron that the most probable scenario was elections once again on June 26.

More recently, at the Ecofin in Amsterdam, cameras picked up the Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos telling Jeroen Dijsselbloem that Spain was heading for elections and that ...