Terrorism at the polls
: More’s the pity that terrorism had an impact on the election in Spain:
Spain’s ruling conservatives were defeated on Sunday in general elections, as a heavy turnout of voters punished the government in the highly emotional aftermath of the Madrid train bombings in which 200 people were killed.
Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the opposition Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) had obtained 43.01 percent of the vote and won 164 seats in the 350-member Chamber of Deputies.
The ruling conservative Popular Party (PP), which was predicted to prevail a week ago, won only 148 seats, with 37.47 percent of the vote….
Acebes said more than 77 percent of the electorate turned out to vote, a high response reflecting the emotions caused by the deadly train massacre….
The PP of outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar apparently took a pasting because of its support for the United States in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Only a week ago, four public opinion polls predicted the Popular Party would win with a reduced majority.
But the bombings and a claim attributed to Al-Qaeda that they were revenge for Spain’s support of American policy in Iraq touched off a wave of anger against the government.
I’m certainly not well-versed on Spanish politics but I wonder whether the ruling Conservatives’ insistence on blaming ETA even in the face of evidence pointing to Islamofascists also contributed to their defeat. In any case, it’s a damned shame that terrorists can have an impact on the election and can help bring in the side they apparently wanted.
Let’s just hope that anger in Spain will focus on the real target: Not the U.S., not the Conservative administration that joined with the U.S. in Iraq, but, of course, the evil bastards who murdered 200 innocents.
: UPDATE: Now is the time to say it again: The terrorists have won if….
The terrorists have won if they changed the course of a democracy… and made a nation lose its resolve to defeat terrorism. The terrorists have won if that happens.
It didn’t happen here. It won’t happen in Spain.
Terrorism will not prevail.
