Spanish vote in general election

[Doctor Cynic]

Source: BBC

Polls have opened in Spain as the country's 35 million eligible voters decide whether to return the ruling Socialists to power.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's party faces Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party.

The faltering economy, rising inflation and unemployment, and immigration have all been high-profile campaign issues.

The election has been marred by Friday's killing of a former Socialist councillor in the Basque Country.

The shooting, which has been blamed on Basque separatists by police, but which no-one has so far admitted, brought election campaigning to an early close.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7285885.stm

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My hunch is that the Socialists will win with a slimmer majority, but it should be noted that politics is very polarized even though the two parties don't differ much on policies. In left-leaning regions they still remember Franco's fascist rule and will never vote for the right. In right-leaning regions they remember how Republican forces tortured and burned priests during the civil war and will never vote for leftists. We'll see what happens.

[arcos]

1. They don't differ much?

I agree that PSOE is hardly socialist, and much less workers' but the policy differences, in my opinion, are pretty clear cut, even more so than the US. PSOE unequivocally supports (and actually legalized) gay marriage, they have fought with the Catholic Church regarding separation of Church and State, they opposed the Iraq war and withdrew the troops, they have supported tougher penalties for domestic violence and have been great allies of women, gays and lesbians and other minorities.

In fact, I'd say the Democratic and Republican parties are much more alike than the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and the Popular Party.



ZP!

[Hannah Bell]

2. but they've implemented neo-lib economic policy. n/t