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Europe
Spain's Socialists Appear Poised to Win
2004-03-14
The ruling Popular Party looked headed for defeat in elections overshadowed by the Madrid terror bombings, with the opposition Socialists poised to score spectacular gains, according to partial results. With 43 percent of the votes counted, the conservatives - who had been projected to win comfortably - fell from 183 seats in the last 350-seat legislature to 135. The Socialists soared from 125 seats to 164. Turnout was high at 76 percent. Many voters said Thursday's bombings, which killed 200 people and wounded 1,500, was a decisive factor, along with the government's much-criticized handling of the initial investigation. The electorate of 34.5 million included about 1.9 million mostly young voters added to the rolls since the 2000 general election. Until the bombing, the conservative Popular Party was projected by most polls to beat the Socialists, although perhaps without retaining their majority. But the disaster, which the government initially blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA, threw the election wide open. The attack was followed by emotional rallies across the country. Critics accused the government, which had trumpeted its crackdown on ETA, of manipulating the investigation for political gain. That struck a chord with voters.
If it turns out this way then al-Q definitely won a round. Damn.
Posted by:Steve White

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