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Spanish opposition leader's future uncertain after election defeat
Mar 11, 2008, 10:27 GMT
Madrid - Spaniards were Tuesday waiting to see whether conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy would resign following his party's defeat in Sunday's legislative elections.
Former Interior Minister Rajoy, 52, who has headed the People's Party (PP) for four years, did not appear in public to comment on the election results, nor did he attend a meeting of his party's steering committee on Monday.
Many of the party's leading representatives praised Rajoy's performance in the elections, but there were also calls for self-criticism and for new people to take over the party leadership.
The PP took 153 seats in the 350-seat parliament against 169 seats for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialists, who were expected to seek alliances with smaller regionalist and leftist parties in order to govern.
The PP increased its number of seats by five, but the defeat was Rajoy's second to Zapatero. Rajoy's style as opposition leader has been criticized as overly aggressive.
The strongest candidates to succeed Rajoy include Madrid regional Prime Minister Esperanza Aguirre.
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Chris (A Brit in Madrid)Mar 11th, 2008 - 11:51:42
The performance of Rajoy throughtout the term of the past Government has indeed been aggressive, but what my Spanish contacts have found equally or more off-putting has been his lack of concrete policies on the subjects that matter to them. His constant opposition to Zapatero's proposals without putting alternatives, except in his party's ultra right policy towards immigration, has produced a negative impression.
If he goes, and it is still not clear that he will go, he will need to take with him Zaplana, Acebes and yes, Aguirre as well, as they are all tainted by their association with him, and with his predessor Aznar.
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