Looks like Zapatero is on his way to getting a absolute majority of 175.
Posted on 03/09/2008 9:55:05 AM PDT by yoe
MADRID: They are two angry political warriors bearing grudges from the past, each convinced the other is a liar and an incompetent destined to destroy the country.
Spanish voters went to the polls in a general election Sunday, a rematch of the bitter contest four years ago between Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on the left and Mariano Rajoy on the right.
In 2004, Zapatero unexpectedly swept to victory, ousting Rajoy's Popular Party from power as enraged voters protested the government's mishandling of terrorist bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid three days before the election.
The candidates have used the campaign this year not only to lay out starkly different visions for Spain but also to settle personal scores.
Rajoy still contends that he was a victim of circumstances in 2004, robbed of victory after his party insisted that the outlawed Basque separatist group ETA was responsible for the attack, despite evidence that pointed to radical Islamists.
For him, the election swept in a government that lacked legitimacy and since then has abused its mandate by shattering family values, weakening the economy, embracing unworthy immigrants and coddling terrorists.
Zapatero sees himself as the first leader of Spain since General Francisco Franco to be armed with what he calls "a secular vision" aimed at eradicating sexual inequality and religious conservatism, granting more autonomy to Spain's provinces and integrating immigrants. For him, Rajoy is a prisoner of the past who has sought revenge for his loss in 2004 by using the conservative party he heads to try to undermine the government's ability to rule.
Despite the mudslinging, political analysts and pollsters say neither candidate has managed to excite voters or lay out a coherent vision.
"Listening to them, you'd think that Spain was on the verge of civil war………
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
History tells a story about Spain just several decades back that may well repeat itself today in Spain and other parts of the world.
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ping
Looks like Zapatero is on his way to getting a absolute majority of 175.
Update with 84% of the vote in the prediction is PSOE (left) 167, PP (right) 155. The the others seats are taken by about 12 more parties all socialist supporters in one form or another.
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