Conservatives crush Spain's Socialists



Spanish election:  Mariano Rajoy of the conservative People's party celebrates victory with his wife, Elvira Fernandez, at the PP's headquarters in Madrid.   (Photograph: Chema Moya/EPA)


Socialism Fails Again . . .
Leftists rack up massive debt along with 23% unemployment

• The Socialists' 110 crop of seats in parliament was their worst result since democracy was restored to Spain at elections in 1977.

The conservative opposition People's party (PP) of Mariano Rajoy have won a clear majority in Spain's general election.

With over 90% of the votes from the election counted, the centre-right PP won 186 seats compared to 154 in the last legislature, while the Socialists plummeted from 169 to 110, their worst performance ever.

Although the 56-year-old is an apostle of deficit control and liberalization, he has been deliberately vague about his plans so as not to frighten off voters, reports the UK Guardian.

With yields on Spanish sovereign debt soaring to new highs at the end of last week, he takes over a country in crisis.

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PP spokeswoman Ana Mato confirmed that the party's own polling also gave them an clear majority. "The PP has won with an ample majority," she said. "Our only objective now will be to overcome unemployment and the crisis."

Rajoy is a former property registrar who held various ministerial posts in the governments of José María Aznar between 1996 and 2004.

Spaniards show little personal enthusiasm for the uncharismatic conservative, but they tired of Zapatero, who oversaw a dramatic economic slump that left growth at 0% and unemployment at 23%.

With Spain's sovereign debt yields last week approaching the levels at which Portugal and Greece needed bailouts, Socialist candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba had little chance of extending the seven-and-a-half year period of leftwing government under Zapatero.

The Socialist prime minister had brought elections forward by six months and said he would not stand again.

The Socialists' 110 crop of seats in parliament was their worst result since democracy was restored to Spain at elections in 1977.

Among a series of smaller parties to benefit from the socialist collapse was the communist-led United Left party, which increased its number of deputies from two to eleven.


Spain's Conservatives cheer their election victory over the insanity of Socialism.


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