Sunday, July 31, 2011

The time for choice will be November

In his latest “state of the nation” debate, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero insisted that he would not bring the next elections, which are scheduled for next March, forward. Why would he want to do that? A few months ago the PP were leading the Socialists by 10 points in the polls. Then Sr Zapetero announced that he would not stand for Prime Minister at the next election, instead Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba  would lead the party. That move has narrowed the gap between the parties to 7 percentage points with many saying that Rubalcaba would make a better PM than PP leader Mariano Rajoy.

The signs must be good for the Socialists because on Friday, the PM announced that the the general election will be brought forward to November 20th this year.

Although we can vote in municipal elections, we are not entitled to vote in either regional or national elections. The outcome though could have a profound effect upon our lives here so we will be taking a keen interest in how the campaigns progress. Will Mariano Rajoy succeed on his third attempt to bring his party back to power or will the Socialists cling on for another term – time will tell.

No comments: