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Spanish Premier’s party wins polls

— PHOTO: AFP

MOMENT OF VICTORY: Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero with his wife Sonsoles Espinosa at the party headquarters in Madrid on Monday, after winning the general elections.

Madrid: Although Spanish Premier Jose Louis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist Party (PSOE) won a victory in Spain’s most contentious election so far, it failed to get an outright majority (176 seats) and will be obliged to govern with coalition partners. The PSOE improved its seat count from 164 to 169 in the 350-member Parliament, but it polled fewer votes and will be obliged to count on coalition partners in order to govern for the next four years.

And though the Popular Party (PP) led by the dour and uncharismatic Mariano Rajoy failed to win, it too bettered its score from 148 in the outgoing parliament to 153 and collected more votes on the way.

The Socialists captured 43.6 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election, their best results since 1986, against 40.1 per cent for the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP) led by Mr. Rajoy, the Interior Ministry said.

Smaller regional and left-wing parties shared the other seats, and Mr. Zapatero will have to negotiate alliances with them in order to govern. “I will govern by improving the things we did well and correcting our mistakes,” the Prime Minister told cheering supporters outside Socialist headquarters in Madrid. “I will govern with a firm hand, but an extended hand.”

In his concession speech, Mr. Rajoy wished Mr. Zapatero “good luck — for the good of Spain.”

The elections came as a decade of economic expansion in Spain showed signs of slowing due to the global credit crunch, prompting an upturn in unemployment late last year.

Left wing observers hailed the results as a victory of modernising factors in Spain and a rejection of xenophobia and conservatism as embodied by the powerful Catholic Church. The church had thrown its support behind the PP calling on voters to throw out a government that had promulgated same sex marriages and simplified divorce proceedings and laws to promote gender equality.

The turnout was 75.32 per cent, close to the high 75.66 per cent in general elections four years ago.

Mr. Rajoy conducted a populist campaign where he railed against the sharp price rises for basic goods such as eggs and milk. He also made immigration a central issue for the first time in a Spanish election. In addition, Mr. Rajoy, a former Education and Interior Minister, accused Mr. Zapatero’s government of being soft on terrorism by launching failed peace talks with the ETA.

In Senate elections, also held on Sunday, the Popular Party lost one seat to 101 of the 208 seats at stake in the 264-seat upper House, with 99.42 per cent of the votes counted.

Mr. Zapatero’s Socialists won eight more seats and now have 89 Senators.

Analysts had predicted that a high turnout would be crucial for Mr. Zapatero’s re-election chances.

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