Irate warriors bear grudges from past but lack vision

Spanish voters went to the polls faced with a choice between PM José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy of the right, neither of whom laid out a coherent vision, write Elaine Sciolino and Victoria Burnett.

THEY are two angry political warriors bearing grudges from the past, each convinced the other is a liar and an incompetent destined to destroy the country.

Spanish voters went to the polls in a general election yesterday, a rematch of the bitter contest four years ago between Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on the left and Mariano Rajoy on the right.

In 2004, Zapatero unexpectedly swept to victory, ousting Rajoy’s Popular Party from power as enraged voters protested the government’s mishandling of terrorist bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid three days before the election.

The candidates have used the campaign this year not only to lay out starkly different visions for Spain but also to settle personal scores.

Rajoy still contends that he was a victim of circumstances in 2004, robbed of victory after his party insisted that the outlawed Basque separatist group ETA was responsible for the attack, despite evidence that pointed to radical Islamists.

For him, the election swept in a government that lacked legitimacy and since then has abused its mandate by shattering family values, weakening the economy, embracing unworthy immigrants and coddling terrorists.

Zapatero sees himself as the first leader of Spain since General Francisco Franco to be armed with what he calls “a secular vision” aimed at eradicating sexual inequality and religious conservatism, granting moreautonomy to Spain’s provinces and integrating immigrants.

For him, Rajoy is a prisoner of the past who has sought revenge for his loss in 2004 by using the conservative party he heads to try to undermine the government’s ability to rule.

Despite the mudslinging, political analysts and pollsters say neither candidate has managed to excite voters or lay out a coherent vision.

“Listening to them, you’d think that Spain was on the verge of civil war,” said Emilio Lamo de Espinosa, a leading political sociologist. “But for the most part the Spanish people are happy people and not interested in this kind of political infighting.”

In poll after poll for months, Zapatero has consistently stayed in the lead. But it was possible that his chances for victory would hinge on whether there was a high turnout among Spain’s 35 million eligible voters, particularly young people, who tend to vote left.

The wild card in the election is potential fallout from the chilling gang-style killing of a former city councilman from the Socialist Party, Isaías Carrasco, 42, on Friday. Both the government and the opposition have blamed ETA for the killing, on the assumption that it bore all the hallmarks of an attack by the group.

The killing, which led to a sudden decision by Spain’s major parties to abruptly cancel theirfinal campaign events, was a grim reminder that terrorism could play a role in the outcome of the election, as it did four years ago.

“Just like four years ago, election day has been stained with blood because of a vile terroristattack,” the liberal newspaper El País said in an editorial on Saturday.

Throughout the campaign, Rajoy has attacked Zapatero for negotiating with ETA, arguing that the talks gave legitimacy to terrorists. Zapatero cut off the talks after ETA bombed Madrid’s airport in December 2006, then admitted in January of this year that indirect contacts had continued.

Since then, Rajoy has accused him of lying.

ETA, which has killed more than 800 people over four decades in a bid for an independent Basque homeland, is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.