Spanish PM says majority 'sufficient, solid'
MADRID (AFP) — Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Monday his new government would be "solid" enough to revive the economy and pursue bold social reforms, despite failing to secure an absolute majority in elections.
Zapatero said his Socialist Party would be talking to smaller parties over the coming weeks in order to reach an "understanding," but added that any talk of formal alliances was "premature".
The Socialists won 169 seats in Sunday's general election -- seven short of an absolute majority in the 350-seat parliament. The conservative Popular Party led by Mariano Rajoy captured 153 seats in polls marked by a high turnout.
Zapatero argued that the majority was "sufficient, strong and solid" to carry out his party's campaign pledges.
"There are various groups with whom we can have dialogue and understanding," he said.
Sunday's election victory was seen as an endorsement of Zapatero's bold liberal social reforms -- gay marriage, fast-track divorce and gender equality -- that marked his first four years in power amid strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church.
Despite failing to win an overall majority, the Socialists scored their highest vote share since 1986.
Zapatero said that the new legislature would fulfil his campaign promises to revive the slowing economy, boost employment and pursue his liberal social agenda.
But in order to govern effectively, Zapatero may need to forge awkward agreements with smaller regional parties.
Among the smaller parties eyeing alliances are the moderate nationalist Catalan Convergence and Unity Party (CiU), which won 11 seats, and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which got six.
Both have strong regional agendas that they will want to see pushed in exchange for their support.
Zapatero said he favoured a "dialogue" with the PNV despite their differences.
Zapatero's first term required a thorny alliance with two leftist parties which only managed to win five seats between them on Sunday -- down from 13 in the last parliament.
"He will have to continue to rely on outside support, but it will clearly be different than the support he had in 2004," the left-wing daily El Pais said of Zapatero's alliance options.
But he will "have the opportunity to continue to apply the essential elements of his programme, especially relating to social and economic issues," it said.
Sociologist Ricardo Montoro said he believed Zapatero would "no difficulty" in negotiating alliances given his "huge ability" to get his reforms passed in the last legislature.
The elections came as a decade-long economic expansion showed signs of slowing due to the global credit crunch that has hit the key construction sector, leading unemployment to hit 8.6 percent last year, its first rise since 2003.
Zapatero has promised to dip into Spain's record budget surplus to weather the downturn by increasing state pensions, providing an annual 400-euro (600-dollar) income tax rebate and boosting spending on infrastructure.
Sunday's result was also seen as a validation of Zapatero's surprise win in elections held on March 14, 2004 when Spain was reeling from commuter train bombings in Madrid three days earlier that killed 191 people.
Voters then were infuriated at the PP government's insistence that the armed Basque separatist group ETA was to blame -- even though evidence pointed to Islamic extremists angered by Madrid's role in the Iraq war.
Election campaigning was suspended early this time around, after former Socialist municipal legislator Isaias Carrasco was shot dead Friday in the northern Basque region.
There have been no claims of responsibility, but police said the attack bore the hallmark of ETA, which has killed over 800 people in its nearly 40-year campaign for an independent homeland.
Thousands gathered late Monday in the Basque city of Mondragon to protest Carrasco's death. At the head of the procession filing through the streets, his family and city hall officials held a banner stating: "For freedom. No to ETA".
The crowd stopped to observe a minute of silence in front of Carrasco's house -- where he was gunned down -- finally breaking into applause with the occasional cries of "Isaias! Isaias!".
