Almost a year has passed since the December 2015 general election that was to put an end to Spain’s de facto two-party system. With the Popular Party’s share of the vote declining from 45 to 29 percent, a historic low, it seemed as though the end was nearing for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

After months of political deadlock new elections were called for June. Podemos, the script went, would use these to surpass the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) thanks to an alliance with the United Left. But the results did not meet expectations: instead, support for the Popular Party increased. Rather than strengthening the position of the Spanish left in parliament, there was a shift to the right — small in terms of MPs but dramatic in terms of its effects.

With political momentum on their side, the Popular Party and Ciudadanos very nearly had enough support to form a government. An abstention from the PSOE, their historic opponents, would be more than enough to break the deadlock that had kept Spain without a government for a year. After a high-profile political struggle this is what happened on Saturday, October 29.