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September 6, 2008 2:47:06 AM CDT

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Spain Socialists Face Suddenly Tough Election

Posted Jan 25, 08 6:16 PM CST in Business,  World 

(Newser) – The Socialist Zapatero government is facing an unexpected hitch in its re-election plans: a downtrodden Spanish economy. The vote March 9 is the first in a big nation in the wake of the world credit crunch, the Economist reports, and it will test the political fallout of a burst housing bubble. The PM’s party is slowly dropping in the polls and now leads the opposition People's Party by only 2 percentage points.

A former strong point for Zapatero—six months back, the economy was growing at 3.8%—finances are now on every Spaniard’s mind, polls show, and there's plenty of buzz about a potential debate between the finance chief and a financial honcho hired by PP. But the conservative PP has snubbed the political center—and its foot-dragging on global warming and other issues may keep the economy from tipping the electoral scales.

Source Economist

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Manuel Pizarro, potential finance minister in a PP government   (Associated Press)
Spain Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero waits to welcome Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before a business meeting in Madrid, Monday Jan. 14, 2008. Erdogan is in Madrid to attend the...   (Associated Press)
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero speaks during a breakfast conference at an hotel, in Madrid, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008. Zapatero said Spain will create between 1.6 million and 2 million...   (Associated Press)
Spanish Economy and Finance Minister Pedro Solbes   (Getty Images (by Event))
Spain's Finance Minister Pedro Solbes talks with reporters about his country's economic outlook at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, Sunday, April 15, 2007. (AP Photo/J. Scott...   (Associated Press)
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credit crisis  • election  • Spain  • Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero


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