"Spanish vote out War Govt, they were just waiting"

NEW SPANISH GOVERNMENT
The bombs in Madrid have cost the Spanish government its hold on power - they have conceded defeat to opposition Socialists in the general elections. The government of Jose Maria Aznar was judged on its response to the atrocity, in which 200 people died, and its support for the war in Iraq.

Speaking after the victory, Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his priority is to combat terrorism. Official results from Spain's general elections show the opposition Socialist Party leading the ruling Popular Party by 43.1% to 37.1%. The figures are based on results after 77% of the votes were counted, Reuters news agency reported. According to figures, more than 62% of voters turned out for the elections - over seven percent more than the number in the last elections four years ago. Full Article

Bombs backlash seals Socialist win
Spain's Socialists won a sensational victory in yesterday's general elections, in a vote that confounded the polls and inflicted a huge punishment on the Popular Party government for supporting the war in Iraq. One of the main planks of Mr Zapatero's platform was his promise to bring home the 1,300 Spanish troops now serving with the coalition in Iraq. This is a position supported by all the other parties in opposition to the Popular Party.
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Spain 'to withdraw Iraq troops'
Spain's Socialist Party prime minister-elect has confirmed his intention to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: "The war in Iraq was a disaster, the occupation of Iraq is a disaster." Full Article

Angry voters demand to know the truth behind carnage
At El Pozo, the polling station overlooked the tracks where the last bomb exploded. A train carriage with its middle blown out, steel guts still dangling, sat marooned in a car park metres from the door. It was guarded by a lone policeman drawing on a cigarette. But as voters filed in, it was clear that the grim reminders of Thursday's bombing would cause an angry electorate to punish the People's party (PP) in spectacular fashion. Full Article

New PM promises realignment in Europe
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. Full Article

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Monday, March 15th, News posted:

Flashback: The al-Qaida Factor
The work of al-Qaida

By Matthew Mcallester, March 14, 2004, www.newsday.com

MADRID -- The Spanish government announced early today it had found a videotape in which the al-Qaida network claims responsibility for Thursday's bombings in Madrid. The news, eight hours before polls opened in a general election, raised a possibility that Thursday's attacks will tip a close vote into defeat for a government that has been a staunch ally of the Bush administration in its global war on terror.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes announced the discovery of the tape not long after issuing news of five arrests -- of three Moroccans and two Spaniards of Indian origin. On the tape, a man identified as Abu Dujan al-Afghani spoke in Moroccan-accented Arabic, saying the attacks were al-Qaida's retribution for Spain's support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

"It is a response to your cooperation with the criminals Bush and his allies," said the speaker, according to a Spanish-language translation issued by Acebes' ministry.

An anonymous caller told a Madrid TV station where to find the tape, in a trash bin near a mosque. Acebes cautioned that the tape may not be authentic and that al-Afghani is unknown to intelligence officials.

But the rising notion that al-Qaida was behind the 200 deaths and 1,500 wounded fueled spontaneous protests against Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and his Popular Party. At 1 a.m. today, crowds thronged the street in front of the national legislature, beating drums, carrying candles and shouting their anger at a government that many Spaniards say unnecessarily made their country a target of terrorism through its alliance with Washington. About 90 percent of Spaniards opposed Aznar's decision last year to contribute 1,300 troops and diplomatic support to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

The last opinion poll before the attacks had shown Aznar's party leading the Socialists by 4.5 percentage points. Until yesterday, the government was insisting that the chief suspect in the attacks was not al-Qaida but the Spanish Basque nationalist group, ETA. But political analysts said swing voters, who hold the key in voting that was to begin here at 9 a.m., would shift against Aznar if they believe that al-Qaida was behind the worst terrorist attack in Europe since 1988. Full Article