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| Europe | |
| Zapatero's Socialists Whacked in Regional Elections | |
| 2009-03-02 | |
At the same, his party's gains in the Basque Country left it in a position to form a coalition, ousting the Basque Nationalists who sought to hold a referendum on virtual independence from Spain. In order to displace the nationalists for the first time since 1980, the Socialists would have to form a bloc with the People's Party, its bitter rivals in the national parliament in Madrid. In Galicia, with 94 percent of votes counted, the Socialists' vote slipped to 30 percent from 33 percent in 2005, allowing the People's Party to reclaim power with 39 out of 75 seats. The Socialists won 25 of 75 seats in the Basque parliament while the PP claimed 13, with almost all votes counted, according to El Mundo newspaper's Web site. The Galicia result is a set back for Zapatero just a year after his party was re-elected nationally, as Spain faces its worst recession in half a century and the highest unemployment rate in Europe. "These are regional elections with undoubted national consequences," Francisco Llera, a professor of political science at the University of the Basque Country. The result will offer encouragement to PP leader Mariano Rajoy, who had lost two straight general elections to Zapatero and faces a leadership challenge from within his own ranks from Esperanza Aguirre, president of the Madrid region. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 D*MN my Java-Blocker....... |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-03-02 18:37 |
| #2 Galicia is a pretty liberal area for this to happen, too. For years Barcelona (capital of Galicia) has been the hub of Spanish liberal thought, although maybe the serious leftards all moved to Madrid and joined the small group of communists on the city's south side now that Franco hasn't been around for a few decades. Yes, he's still dead. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-03-02 18:36 |
| #1 Galicia is a pretty liberal area for this to happen, too. For years Barcelona (capital of Galicia) has been the hub of Spanish liberal thought, although maybe the serious leftards all moved to Madrid and joined the small group of communists on the city's south side now that Franco hasn't been around for a few decades. Yes, he's still dead. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-03-02 18:36 |