Tide is turning against communists

Friday 25 November 2011

Spain election: Conservatives set to win landslide victory, exit polls show.

Spain’s conservative party were set to win an overwhelming victory as the nation went to the polls to choose a government to steer the country through a looming debt crisis.

By Fiona Govan, Madrid

Initial exit polls suggested the Popular Party had secured between 181 and 185 seats, compared to 154 in the last legislature and that the socialists could only hope to win between 115 and 119 seats. The final results were not expected until late into Sunday night.

Mariano Rajoy, leader of the centre-right Popular Party (PP) was on course to win an absolute majority, as voters punished the ruling Socialists for their perceived mishandling of the economy.

But the 56-year old will have little time to savour his victory as fears grow that the debt laden nation may yet need to seek a bail-out after borrowing costs last week edged towards an unsustainable level.

Monday morning will bring the new Prime Minister the daunting task of winning over financial markets and bring confidence that Spain can swiftly trim its public deficit to save it from becoming the next victim of the Euro crisis.

Mr Rajoy gave little detail of the measures to come during the campaign but pledged major reforms, deeper austerity measures to bring Spain out of the crisis.

He must also announce who will be appointed to the key position as economy minister in the new government.

The usual caretaker period of 100 days has been reduced and the new prime minister is expected to be sworn in by Christmas but the dangerous vacuum period has raised fears that Spain could yet succumb to contagion.

Mr Rajoy had pleaded for time to tackle Spain’s deep economic problems. “Those who win should have a minimum margin, more than half an hour” to enact swift reforms, he said Friday on the last day of campaigning.

After the collapse of the Greek and Italian governments, Spain’s ruling socialists were the third government to be pushed from power in as many weeks but in Spain, at least, the electorate were able to choose the successors.

Voters on the whole were pessimistic as they went to the polls on the 36th anniversary of dictator Gen Francisco Franco’s death.

"We can choose the sauce they will cook us in, but we're still going to be cooked," said Jose Vasquez, a 45-year old civil servant as he cast his vote in a Madrid suburb.

“All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that the next government can do what it takes to save Spain,” said Javier Hernandez, an engineer who cast his vote for the PP at a polling station near Las Ventas, the Madrid bullring.

“We don’t really know what’s to come because the PP haven’t told us their plans but it’s time to get rid of the socialists who after nearly eight years have brought this country to its knees,” he said.

With Spain suffering 5 million unemployed - at 22 per cent, the highest rate in Europe - and a second recession looming, many turned against the socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which has been in power since 2004.

Socialist prime ministerial candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba had failed to inspire confidence and in the last days of campaigning attempted to limit the certain defeat.

“The PP say they create jobs and quite frankly that’s all we care about,” said Rosa Escobar, 62, who said both of her children were unemployed. “I’ve always voted socialist in the past for ideological reasons but this time I just can’t.”

At some polling booths people arguments broke out after teachers wearing green protest t-shirts in which they have taken to the streets to demonstrate against stringent cuts in education, were told they could not vote.

“I was turned away by voting officials because they said I was wearing a political message,” explained Gema Rodriguez, 44, a former secondary school teacher in Madrid but now on the dole, with the slogan “Public education of all, for all” emblazoned across her chest.

“I was told to remove the T-shirt or forfeit my right to vote. How can this happen in a democracy?” she said.

The socialists seemed likely to lose the region of Andalusia in the south, which suffers one of the highest unemployment rates in Spain.

Smaller and regional parties appeared to have done well, with a new party in the Basque country securing several seats in the national parliament.