Having just return from Madrid (before the terrorist attacks), it was
with amazement but not with suprise that the Partido Popular didn't
win. They have a real voting base in Madrid, but it was the terrorist
bombings that that did them in. Aznar and his Interior Minister Aceres
immediately insisted that it was ETA: A political ploy to get back at
the Basque group for refusing to participate in the upcoming
elections. (If you remember, it was some time before the Bush
administration admitted that Al Qaeda was responsible for 9-11.)
Unfortunately, the move backfired when the arrests of the the three
Moroccans and two Hindus were announced.
Politics aside, here in PR we monitored the three main Spanish outlets
we receive: Antena 3, Television Espan~ola, and Radio Exterior de
Espan~a.

The two tv stations were professional and stress "caution" before
predicting a winner in Sunday's elections. REE was just as
non-predictable, saying that nothing was certain until all the votes
were cast. However, all three otulets were quoting polls previously
published giving the PSOE a clear win. It wasn't until 79 percent of
the ballots counted at around 2100UTC is when the television stations
gave the victory to PSOE. It was an interesting day for monitoring.


Marty

San Juan, PR