That's one way of looking at what happened in Spain last weekend, as Europe saw yet another dramatic election. Spanish voters went to the polls to pick candidates in regional and municipal races, with thousands of seats up for grabs. For decades, power has generally passed between the two main parties in most regions (and in the national parliament): on the right, PP (Partido Popular, the People's Party), and on the left, PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). But on Sunday, that regime broke down.
As you can see in the graph above, PP's share of regional seats fell from 50 percent to 35 percent, while PSOE fell at the same time. Two new parties, Podemos (We Can) and Ciudadanos (Citizens), together won 22 percent of regional seats. (Podemos is leftist and vocally anti-austerity, while Ciudadanos is more center-right and pro-business.) Similar results were seen in municipal elections, where PP received only 27 percent of all votes cast, compared to 38 percent in 2011. PSOE, again, also saw its vote share decrease, from 28 percent to 25. A good interactive graphic of municipal results can be found here.
Not only that, but the two biggest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, may end up with mayors with ties to the "indignados" protest movement that gave birth to Podemos. Barcelona has elected leftist activist Ada Colau, while in Madrid, second-place finisher Manuela Carmena could end up in power if she is able to form an alliance with Socialists.
Colau's story, rising from a protestor detained while physically blocking foreclosures to the mayor of Barcelona, is the story of this election—and perhaps the general election that will take place this fall as well. In that contest, polling prior to last weekend indicated a robust four-way race. Podemos had been trending downward of late, but the party's recent successes may well boost its fortunes later this year.