What Spain owes the ejected Mariano Rajoy

THOUGH only a few days old, June has been cruel to the European Union. In Italy, on June 1st, the first all-populist government was formed since the second world war. It brings together in bizarre conjunction the maverick left-wing Five Star Movement, a party founded nine years ago by a television comedian, and the hard-right nativists of the Northern League. Also on June 1st Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s prime minister, was dispatched in a confidence vote that has brought to power an even narrower minority government under Pedro Sánchez (pictured). His Socialists control only 24% of the lower house.Not for the first time, Spain and Italy appear to shadow each other through economic and political tumult. Either or both governments may be short-lived. And nervous markets have pushed up the bond yields of both. But there the similarities end. Spain these days counts as a bright spot, unlike Italy, which has much to learn from its Iberian cousin.