Spanish socialists declare victory

Apparently, the socialists in Spain have declared victory. Analysts from the The Neville Chamberlain Institute for World Peace (calpundit.com/archives/003489.html) could not be reached for comment.

From this:

Many voters blamed outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's staunch support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq for [the terror attacks]. The government's initial response to the attacks further fueled popular anger, generating accusations that it had withheld information and attempted to manipulate public opinion about the terror attacks before the elections...

The ruling party's loss brings to power a party that was deeply opposed to the U.S.-led war against Iraq and that has promised to withdraw Spain's 1.300 troops there, unless there is a new United Nations mandate. The Socialist Party leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has also promised to re-orient Spain's foreign policy, away from Aznar's strong embrace of the Bush administration and instead seek new friends from among Spain's anti-war European neighbors.

Before Thursday's attacks, the Popular Party had been comfortably ahead in the polls...

"I was going to vote for one side, and now I ended up voting for the other because of the attacks," said one voter, Manuel Yunta. "The thought that it could be al Qaeda behind the attacks changed my vote, because I blame the government for the massacre..."

And, from this:

Up to 7,000 demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday and accused the Popular Party (PP) of lying about who was responsible... The Spanish electoral commission said it had filed a lawsuit on behalf of the party claiming that the protests constituted a bid to influence voters on the eve of the election.

It's OK, the "liberals" have won, and there will be peace in our time.

Terrorism · Sun, 03/14/2004 - 13:36 · · Importance: 1