Posted on 03/14/2004 7:50:17 PM PST by Destro
New PM promises realignment in Europe
Zapatero signals move away from US
Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Monday March 15, 2004
The Guardian
When he ordered the crowd of flag-waving supporters at his headquarters to stop their celebrations and stand silent for a minute's homage to Madrid's dead and injured last night José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was starting what he pledged would be a new style of government.
Where the past four heavy-handed years of José María Aznar's People's party had seen increasingly bitter and divisive splits between Spaniards, be they left or right, Madrileño or Basque and Catalan, the 43-year-old lawyer who will now lead Spain has promised dialogue, debate and healing.
The first people to be cared for, he said, were the families of the dead, those still missing relatives and those still battling for their lives or recovering from ghastly, life-changing injuries in hospital. But the main task, he said, was to fight terrorism wherever it raises its ugly head.
This will necessarily mean forging relationships with other world leaders, though Spain's place in the world may be about to change dramatically with Mr Zapatero at the helm. He has already said he wants George Bush to lose the presidential elections, so he will have no friend there.
As for Tony Blair, he had already welcomed Mariano Rajoy, Mr Aznar's successor, to Downing Street before the elections. Mr Blair's friendship with Mr Aznar has always irked Spain's socialists, some of whom see him as a traitor of the left.
Yesterday the leader of the house, Peter Hain, promised that relations with Spain would be unaffected by the change in government.
"The coalition, the unity between Spain and Britain has been one of the driving forces for economic and political reform in Europe and I'm sure that will continue," he said.
The big question on foreign policy remains whether Mr Zapatero sticks to his guns and withdraws Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq if the UN does not take control by June 30. The crowds outside his party headquarters shouting "No to war!" last night will certainly expect that. In Europe, Mr Zapatero can be expected to move closer to France and Germany, though Spain's record as a tough partner that fights its corner hard in the EU is unlikely to change.
It is at home, however, that Mr Zapatero hopes to make the biggest difference.
He wants to cure Spain of those angry splits which have made the country turn against itself under the stern, dour leadership of the hawkish Mr Aznar.
That may be easier said than done, however, not least because he cannot govern on his own. Twelve seats short of an absolute majority as the final votes were counted last night, he must find someone else to support him from an array of leftist and regionalist parties.
The confrontation between central government and regions, such as Catalonia and the Basque country, demanding a further extension of already considerable powers of semi-autonomous government have reached levels of previously unseen bitterness.
In the Basque country, regional premier Juan José Ibarretxe has a plan for turning the region into a "free associate" of Spain that has the support of one half of the Basque parliament and the absolute rejection of the other half.
Catalonia expects the outflow of power from Madrid that started more than two decades ago to continue.
Mr Zapatero has insisted that he wants to reach consensus with the People's party on "matters of state", including terrorism, possible constitutional reform and new powers for the autonomous regions. Will the People's party, wounded and perhaps furious at the allegations that it had tried to hide the truth about Thursday's bombings, let him?
A gracious speech by Mr Rajoy, in which he accepted defeat, signalled, perhaps, that the old, aggressive, battling Aznar style, so thoroughly rejected at the ballot box, may disappear. Or not.
Mr Aznar lost, in part, because he made his party the holder of the only acceptable opinion on terrorism, especially with Eta, on whom his government seemed determined to pin the blame for Thursday's attack.
When Eta tried to blow him up in 1995, his advisers reportedly predicted that it would help launch him into the prime minister's Moncloa palace, which he first occupied the following year.
A second, much crueller terrorist attack has provided a tragic end to his eight-year stretch as Spain's first and, so far, only, rightwing premier since the death of General Franco. It was a cruel, and undoubtedly painful, goodbye.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.