Spain’s bond-market crisis ended abruptly nearly three years ago. But the results of the weekend’s elections are a reminder that the effects of Spain’s economic crisis will be felt for years yet.

Spain has been held up as an example of a country willing to undertake reform and reaping the benefit in higher growth. Spain led the big-four eurozone economies in the first quarter, with growth of 0.9% from the fourth quarter and 2.6% year-on-year. Unemployment has been falling, the current account has moved into surplus after nearly 30 years of deficits and the budget deficit has been nearly halved.

Spain has made tangible progress on reforms, particularly in labor markets. One sign is that employment growth has picked up quicker than expected, at an earlier stage of the recovery than in the past. But perceptions of Spain have probably also benefited from the lack of progress until recently in Italy and France.

The Wall Street Journal