Spain's Greek concerns

The Twitter account of the leader of Spain's Podemos party, Pablo Iglesias, spoke volumes about his attitude to the situation in Greece on Sunday. The 36-year-old's profile photo, on the day that Greeks voted on whether to accept the terms offered for a bailout deal, showed Iglesias hugging Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.

"Today democracy has won in Greece," Iglesias tweeted, as the overwhelming victory for the "no" camp emerged.

The photo was taken in January, when Iglesias visited Athens to campaign on behalf of Tsipras Syriza party in the Greek general election campaign, particularly in support of its opposition to the austerity being imposed by the European Union.

With Greece's future in turmoil in the wake of the referendum, Spain is expected to be one of the countries that is most vulnerable to possible contagion in the coming weeks and months. That is partly due to its economic situation, but also because of the political uncertainty that the sudden rise of Podemos has helped generate.

The Spanish government has insisted that the euro zone's fourth-largest economy is in much better shape than it was in 2012, when it requested a 100-billion-euro bailout from the EU for its struggling financial sector. Eventually, Spain only used 41 billion euros of that and it successfully streamlined the banking industry before returning to growth. The International Monetary Fund expects Spain's economy to expand by over 3.0 percent this year, much more than the EU average.

"What's happening in Greece won't happen in Spain because this is a trustworthy country," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said last week, as he hosted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Madrid. Rajoy has frequently defended the strict austerity measures his conservative government has implemented over the last four years, describing them as an effective shield against future economic shocks.

On Monday, his economy minister, Luis de Guindos, appeared to be trying to put further distance between Spain and its troubled Mediterranean neighbor when he said: "It is unavoidable that Greece carry out its reforms."

But the Madrid stock market dipped in response to the Greek vote on Monday, while the spread on bonds - a key indicator of international confidence in the country - spiked, suggesting that even the new-look Spanish economy cannot avoid market turbulence.

Consequences for Spain

Meanwhile, not all Spaniards share Rajoy's bullish view of the economy.

"Spain has got to watch what's happening in Greece, because I can easily see the same things that are happening there happening here as well," said Manuela Gonzalez, who owns a newspaper kiosk in central Madrid. She pointed to the unemployment rate of 24 percent, which is over 50 percent for people under the age of 25.

"We've got young people working incredibly hard for 12-hour shifts for just 800 euros a month - that doesn't allow them to make plans in the long term," she said. "And that's those who actually have a job."

Others are heartened by the referendum result due to its potential political implications.

"It gives me hope," said Jose Angel Herencias, an unemployed lawyer. "The 'no' was a no to fear, it was a no to austerity policies, to blackmail and immorality."

Herencias's words echo the response of many of the leaders of Podemos, who he says he will vote for in a general election expected by the end of this year.

With polls showing Podemos close behind the governing Popular Party (PP) and opposition Socialists, the outcome of that election is still difficult to predict. In May, Podemos and other left-leaning parties took control of many city halls and regions across the country in local elections.

Jose Fernandez-Albertos, a political scientist at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), believes the Greek referendum has two readings for the Spanish parties, particularly Podemos.

"The fact that Greece is in a critical economic situation is bad for Podemos, it generates fear among voters," said Fernandez-Albertos, who has written a book about the party.

But on the other hand, he said, "in the medium term, Podemos is successfully managing to take ownership of the idea that a different kind of Europe is necessary - and ownership of this conflict between creditors who impose conditions on debtors."

Fernandez-Albertos said that by comparison, the PP and Socialists have failed to set the agenda on these issues, which are growing concerns for ordinary Spaniards.

"Being opposed to austerity is an increasingly common opinion among people," he added.