How did Spain get its coronavirus response so wrong?

Spain saw what happened in Iran and Italy – and yet it just overtook China’s death toll in one of the darkest moments in recent Spanish history.

The solutions imposed a decade ago – austerity, jobs losses and salary cuts – will not be tolerated. The economist Toni Roldán has calculated that Spain needs a €200bn loan from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). That, however, must wait. For the moment, Spain must beat the virus. This has been the toughest moment so far, but there may be worse to come.