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Posted on 05/25/2003 7:46:57 PM PDT by Koblenz
By DANIEL WOOLLS, Associated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain - Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's party held its ground Sunday in city and regional elections, the first test of national sentiment since he angered Spaniards by backing the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites).
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The opposition socialists — looking ahead to national elections next year — had hoped to tarnish Aznar and his government not only for supporting the U.S.-led attack, but also for his handling of an oil tanker spill last November, Spain's worst environmental disaster.
But Interior Ministry results showed the opposition Socialists only slightly ahead in the overall vote count, 34.7 percent to 33.9 percent, with 99 percent of the votes counted. The Socialists only did slightly better than the 1999 municipal elections while Aznar's Popular Party fell off only barely.
However, it appeared Sunday's vote would not translate into a significant change in the distribution of political power at the municipal level.
Aznar's party won the mayoral race in Madrid, perhaps the biggest single prize in Sunday's balloting, and retained control of Valencia and smaller cities and towns in central Spain.
It also finished first in the race for the Madrid regional legislature, but failed to retain its majority as the Socialists made strong gains and could form a coalition with United Left.
At stake nationwide were 8,108 city council posts and the legislatures in 13 of the country's 17 regions. More than 34 million of Spain's 40 million people were eligible to vote.
"You've scored sensational results," Aznar said at party headquarters after midnight. "Today, the Popular Party is still the great party it always has been."
Voter turnout was 68 percent, up from 64 percent in 1999.
Socialists did best in their traditional strongholds in Andalucia and southern Spain up to just below Madrid.
In northern Spain, Aznar's hopes of dislodging Basque nationalists who run town hall in Bilbao appeared to sputter. Moderate nationalists won 13 of 29 seats, a gain of four from the 1999 election.
The Iraq war dominated the two-week political campaign. Aznar defied public opinion in Spain and across much of Europe by taking a high-profile place in the U.S.-led coalition.
His approval rating fell to 31 percent and the Socialists eclipsed his conservative Popular Party in opinion polls for the first time since he took office in 1996, ending a 12-year Socialist rule.
At one point in the run-up to the war, polls showed more than 80 percent of Spaniards oppose the conflict.
Aznar announced two years ago that he will step down from his party's leadership and not seek re-election next year.
If this is true, it's too bad. He's been a strong ally for President Bush and the United States....
Si! MUY caliente!
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