The Spanish opposition obtains a mitigated electoral success

Pablo Sebastián analyses the results of the municipal and local elections that took place on Sunday, May 27th, in Spain. The right-wing Popular Party (PP) won them by a whisker. "This result might incite the head of the government to bring the elections scheduled for March 2008 forward to this coming autumn. There is no shortage of arguments in favour of such a decision. Firstly, the PP, despite leading a very virulent opposition did not manage to clearly swing votes in its favour. Secondly, with these results and the coming elections, the head of the government [José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero] will be hard put to get the 2008 budget approved by Parliament. Thirdly, the government and the Socialist Party consider that this vote represents a plebiscite of ETA [Basque separatist Organisation] negotiation policy and they do not not wish to run the risk of another terrorist bomb attack that would force Zapatero into new concessions."

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