Spain was Spain again. 2022 saw the return of fiestas, festivals, and ferias — such profound economic and emotional stimulants for Spanish society — return in their full capacities, filling the country’s streets and squares with colour, vigour, and alegría. However, no sooner had the battle with an invisible enemy in Covid-19 begun to wane than Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine. Spaniards quickly learned the meaning of cost-push inflation — in July, it hit a 38-year high of 10.8%. As Spain enters a bumper election year, attention will move away from the ideological debates that fill the airwaves and column inches here toward a subject we can all understand: the money in our pockets.