Spain's regional rift makes third election more likely

Silver voting balls in the form of acorns dating back to the seventeenth century are displayed at the assembly house in the Basque town of Guernica, northern Spain, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent West

GUERNICA, Spain (Reuters) - At the back of a council building in the Spanish town of Guernica, people take photos of each other in front of an oak sapling, a direct descendent of sacred trees under whose branches village elders held assemblies in medieval times.

This oak, which still plays an important role in the swearing-in ceremony for the regional head, is revered as a symbol of the independent spirit of the Basque people, just over two million of whom live in this mountainous northern part of Spain.