SPAIN: Spaniards will cast their votes on Sunday, March 14th, to elect a new government and, in this case, a new prime minister to replace Mr José María Aznar. Mr Aznar has always made it clear that he would step down after serving two terms in office, writes Jane Walker
His eight years expire in March, and he made his formal farewell to the parliament before it adjourned for the Christmas recess.
Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting the minister-spokesman, Mr Eduardo Zaplana, confirmed that parliament, the Cortes, would be dissolved on January 19th. The parties must name their lists of candidates by February 11th and, although pre-campaigning has already started, the formal campaigning will start on February 27th.
In November Mr Aznar named his deputy, Mr Mariano Rajoy, to replace him as Popular Party (PP) leader. Mr Rajoy has spent the past three months travelling the country and gathering support.
Although he has always been a loyal Aznar supporter, Mr Rajoy's manner is less confrontational and abrasive than Mr Aznar's, and his public approval rating has climbed steadily in recent months.
The announcement of the date comes as the PP has recovered from the damage it suffered after Mr Aznar's bitterly criticised decision to support the Bush-Blair coalition to invade Iraq, when over 90 per cent of Spaniards opposed the war.
An opinion poll published shortly before Christmas showed that PP would win by some four percentage points over the Socialists.
PP is confident it can maintain its support. The Economy Minister, Mr Rodrígo Rato, yesterday said the past eight years had been the most successful in Spain's history. He pointed to the zero budget deficit, the highest economic growth in the European Union and a fast-declining unemployment rate.
And Mr Zaplana said: "The past eight years have seen the greatest parliamentary stability in the history of Spanish democracy. The time when general elections were critical in our politics are happily over."
The Socialists are going to the polls at a sensitive time. Their leader, Mr Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has been severely criticised for his decision to permit the Catalan Socialist party, which failed to win an absolute majority, to govern the region with the support of the radical left-wing ERC (Republican Left) which openly favours independence from Spain.
Mr Zapatero has also made several controversial proposals, such as replacing the Supreme Court with regional courts which would require a reform of the constitution if he wins the elections.
On Thursday he named a team of 10 "wise men" to advise him and plan the future role of the party. He denied they were his shadow cabinet, although he confirmed it was likely that some of them could become ministers in a future Socialist government.
These will be the ninth general elections, which must be held every four years, since the restoration of democracy in 1977. The centrist UCD governed between 1977 and 1982, and the Socialists held power from 1982 until 1996 when Mr Aznar's conservative PP won the elections.