En la cuerda floja

Así lo plantea The Economist: Spanish politics. Zapatero's balancing act. Nationalists to the left of him, markets to the right.

El Mago. He was once considered a political magician, with a sleight of hand that distracted from his country’s problems.

El equilibrista. But now the circus skill needed by Spain’s Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is that of a tightrope walker.

Cautivo de los inversores. For the economy to survive, he must please the investors that lend Spain money.

Sometido por los nacionalistas. And for the government to survive, he must satisfy the Catalan and Basque nationalists who prop up his minority administration.

Elecciones en Marzo 2011. One false step and Spain risks falling back into the pit of uncertainty, with the most probable outcome early elections in spring.

Desempleo al 20%. Mr Zapatero’s career, woes that have pushed Spain’s unemployment rate up to almost 20%, would also crash.

PSOE 10% menos que PP. His Socialist Party already trails Mariano Rajoy’s conservative opposition People’s Party (PP) by 10% in the polls.

Esclavo del PNV. Socialists seven seats short of a majority, leaves the prime minister at the mercy of the six deputies of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

Derrotado por CiU. In October or November, the nationalist Convergence and Union (CiU) coalition is set to oust a Socialist-led coalition from power.

Torturado por la deuda. In El País Mr Zapatero said that on May 9th he had a sleepless night waiting for the Nikkei to open.

Incumple el Estatuto. Over 425,000 people joined a rally in Barcelona on July 10th to protest against strike down some parts of the region’s 2006 autonomy charter.

Desperdicia la Presidencia Europea. The first six months of this year, when Spain held the rotating presidency of the European Union, was supposed to be the moment when the prime minister could enjoy the limelight. He did not.

Un showman. Spaniards have grown used to Mr Zapatero’s showmanship.