ABSTRACT
The economic crisis has affected all institutions of the Spanish political system, including the monarchy which until then was one of the most solid pillars of democracy. The Constitutional Court has a very good reputation among the Spanish political elites, because of its even-handedness in deciding disputes. The democratisation of public administration was accompanied by a party-political consensus to decentralise public administration from the centre to the periphery. Quite crucial for the smooth running of relations between the institutions is the Spanish Constitutional Court. Spanish core institutions work well; however, the dominance of the executive and weakness of parliament is a major problem. The controlling institutions have also been affected by the high level of politicisation of the main institutions. In spite of the success of the Spanish constitution, which has become also a worldwide model for a constitutional settlement between opposing political forces, the financial and sovereign debt crises have highlighted many vulnerabilities that still affect the country.
