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In 2008, the reform of the system of fiscal equalisation and the framework of distribution of powers between the Swiss Confederation and the cantons came into effect. This is considered to be one of the most relevant and far-reaching reforms in the recent history of Swiss federalism. This article has a double objective: firstly, it analyses the basis of the reform of Switzerland's fiscal equalisation system, both in terms of form and procedure, as well as its content, objectives and results. Taking into account the characteristics of the Swiss model of governance and democracy, the strict system of checks and balances and the institutional veto points that the reform had to overcome in order to be approved, the article concludes that the key to success lay in the diligent management of the political and institutional dimensions. Secondly, the article aims to serve as a source of inspiration for the pending renewal process of the regional financing system in Spain. The article identifies political and institutional enablers that can help to unblock contexts of deadlock, immobility and custody of the status quo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has provided an ultimate testing ground for evaluating the resilience and effectiveness of federal and decentralized systems. The article analyses how the Spanish asymmetrical system of decentralization has responded to the pandemic, focusing on the management developed by the sub‐central governments (Autonomous Communities) during the first two waves of the pandemic in 2020. The research, which is both quantitative and qualitative, employs multidisciplinary tools and information sources, analyzing and linking fiscal and budgetary sources with the available statistics and information on health. Although the health, economic and social crisis caused by COVID‐19 has highlighted appreciable shortcomings related to the decentralized model of territorial organization – in questions of both regional financing and health management – the research concludes that decentralization has not per se been a handicap when confronting the pandemic in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]