| Blame Game | Spain’s most-detailed account yet of the missteps leading to April’s nationwide blackout failed to fully explain why the power grid was so unstable in the first place. The report adds fodder to the finger-wagging between utilities and the grid operator, which has heated up in recent weeks. Bank Deals | For almost a year now, Italy has been at the center of a renaissance in European bank takeovers, with at least half a dozen deals proposed. So far, most are stuck in political opposition and competing investor interests. Here’s what’s going wrong. Tax Talks | Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he’s confident Germany’s regional governments will back his €46 billion package of tax breaks after progress toward settling a dispute over sharing the cost. Portugal Backing | Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s minority government got backing from the two biggest opposition parties after his center-right coalition won a snap election in May. It means it can start putting in place its program of tax cuts and privatization of its state-owned airline. Orban Threatened | Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is confronting his strongest opposition yet after the Tisza Party surged to an unprecedented 15 percentage point lead in a poll. If it were to keep that lead until the election next year, it would beat Orban in a landslide. | 
