Spain's Zapatero, a man of peace for a wounded country [Megaton barf alert]

Reuters via The New Zealand Herald ^ | 15.03.2004

[quantim]

MADRID - Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero brought the Socialists from the political wilderness to a spectacular polls victory on Sunday and will now need his cool head and calm temper to unite Spain after its worst bomb attack.

Rodriguez Zapatero, who until Thursday's bombing was considered an outsider for Spain's top job, had angered many in his own party with his lack of aggression in the months after he took the leadership in 2000 following a heavy electoral defeat.

But his tendency to compromise may prove a valuable asset as he looks to form a government with left-wing allies or regional parties.

It may also help Spain heal the scars from Thursday's train bombings which killed 200 people and injured some 1,500. The attack appeared to have played a crucial role in a big poll swing to the Socialists, stirring anger at the ruling Popular Party's handling of the investigation and at outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's commitment to the US-led war in Iraq.

One of Zapatero's first acts as prime minister could be the withdrawal of 1300 Spanish troops from Iraq. He has promised to pull them out if the United Nations does not take charge in Iraq by the end of June.

The unflappable Zapatero, who became Spain's youngest member of parliament at 26, then faces a tougher task as his government will need to appease powerful Catalan and Basque nationalists keen to wrestle more power from Madrid.

The 43-year-old will also need to court Spain's unions and old-style socialists and keep the loyalty of powerful barons who control the regional branches of his party.

Zapatero has stuck to a policy of "calm change" instead of rupture with old school socialism.

"He is a 15-round fighter, the kind that gets into trouble in the first four rounds, and then gradually takes over," Manuel Garcia, his former law professor, told El Pais newspaper.

Unlike many of his fiery countrymen, Zapatero is famed for his coolness and colleagues say they have never seen him angry.

Married with two children, Zapatero prides himself on his politeness but the word most used to describe him is "dull".

"He is a very serene person. He received the news of the result with a strange calm," said a senior Socialist politician of Zapatero's reaction to his election win.

In a country obsessively proud of its cuisine, Zapatero professes not to enjoy food and does not drink alcohol. He loves fishing in the rivers of his native northern province of Leon.

Zapatero realised he had politics in his blood aged 16 when he heard the will of his socialist grandfather, an army colonel executed by a fascist firing squad in the Spanish Civil War.

"My father read to my brother and I the will of my grandfather Captain Lozano who wrote a few hours before being shot in 1936, 'I die innocent and I forgive'," Zapatero wrote. "At that moment my biography begins."

When he turned 18, Zapatero joined the Socialist party. He rose quickly through the ranks after the party won power in 1982 under its charismatic former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez -- one of Zapatero's heroes.

Ironically, Gonzalez -- who held power for 14 years until he was ousted by Aznar amid corruption scandals -- was one of Zapatero's most outspoken critics in his early days as party leader when his moderation angered many in a party baying for blood.

He stirred outrage by offering a cross-party pact with the PP against ETA, but stuck to his guns and won the day.

But critics say Zapatero lacks the killer instinct and point to his previous failure while opposition leader to capitalise on a string of unpopular moves by the Popular Party (PP), including a bungled labour reform, an oil spill and the war in Iraq.

More recently, the revelation that a coalition partner of the Socialists in the regional government of Catalonia held secret talks with ETA prompted the PP to questions Zapatero's control over his own party.

For some, Zapatero's lack of aggression was exempified in a recent television interview.

When asked what he would do if confronted by the leader of ETA in the street, Zapatero replied: "I would not look him in the face".

[quantim]

I guess my Rioja, Panza Blanca, Cava, and almost priceless Tempranillo's are going down the drain. Pity.

[ikka]

No, you should drink them all in memory of the Spain that was and that should have been.

Reuters loves him, but reading between the lines, I see "sellout", "Walter Mondale", "George McGovern", "Jimmuh Carter".

[Dialup Llama]

>When asked what he would do if confronted by the leader of ETA in the street, Zapatero replied: "I would not look him in the face".

Oooo. That'll hurt. That would really show him. Normally the submissive dog will also look down when encountering the more dominant animal.

[Gkubly]

“He is a 15-round fighter, the kind that gets into trouble in the first four rounds, and then gradually takes over”. Well isn't that just special Spain is in the midst of a national crisis and this guys slow right out of the box. Lets hope and pray for the Spaniards sakes he's a quick learner.

[Texasforever]

The unflappable Zapatero, who became Spain's youngest member of parliament at 26, then faces a tougher task as his government will need to appease powerful Catalan and Basque nationalists keen to wrestle more power from Madrid.

Just damn.

[Adrastus]

"His tendency to compromise?" Zapatero needs to consider that you can't get in bed with a polecat without consequences. Sounds like a real four-star beauty.

[elmer fudd]

Europe doesn't have the stomach for war anymore. It's a dying continent.

[auzerais]

Shall we now refer to the new socialist government on the Iberian Peninsula as

Vichy España?

[Waco]

Guess we can now refer to Spain as, "the south of france."

[Texasforever]

I have trouble keeping my rage at this under control. For Al Que’da to have overthrown a national government by killing 200 people is a true crime against humanity.

[nutmeg]

ping

[quantim]

Guess we can now refer to Spain as, "the south of france."

Agreed.  I am sadder than Daschle.

[McGavin999]

One of Zapatero's first acts as prime minister could be the withdrawal of 1300 Spanish troops from Iraq. He has promised to pull them out if the United Nations does not take charge in Iraq by the end of June.

This guy's a little out of the loop isn't he? The Iraqis are going to take charge of Iraq on June 30th.

[Texasforever]

I guess this guy is one of Kerry's foreign supporters.

[dc-zoo]

A fighter? His name says he's a "shoemaker". Will he make a peace offering of shoes to al qaeda?

[KQQL]

Islamofascist have a friend in Spain's Zapatero, he won his victory thanks to their attacks....

[KQQL]

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.

---

http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,2763,1169596,00.html

[jocon307]

"For Al Que’da to have overthrown a national government by killing 200 people is a true crime against humanity."

Texas, Al Q. didn't do it, the Spanish voters did. Like many people at times they will be complicit in their own damnation. For sure they will try something here. I was never one of those who thought "another attack is inevitable", but now I do. And what will John F'in Kerry and the rest of the dems say then?

This is very bad what has happened in Spain. Maybe the Popular Party screwed up, perhaps they should have pointed the finger at Al Queda and challenged the voter to "not let the terrorists win". I don't know. But this is bad, and the GLEE that greats it in the press, well that's the worst part of all.

Do these elitists think they will be spared by the Islamofascists? Do they really think that?

[KQQL]

socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, said yesterday: "I think Kerry will win. I want Kerry to win."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1166063,00.html

[Texasforever]

I wonder when Kerry will promise US entry into the EU? There is a lot of evidence pointing to massive foreign involvement in this election.