VZCZCXRO0123
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHMD #0288 0701044
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101044Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4446
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MADRID 000288 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SP
SUBJECT: ZAPATERO WINS REELECTION 
 
REF: MADRID 274 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (U) Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Spanish Socialist 
Workers Party (PSOE) was the victor in the March 9 general 
election.  The PSOE won 43.64 percent of the vote which will 
translate into 169 congressional seats (an absolute majority 
would be 176).  Mariano Rajoy and the Popular Party (PP) won 
40.11 percent of the vote which will mean 153 seats.  Both 
the PSOE and the PP bettered their results from 2004 when 
they won 164 and 148 seats, respectively.  The big losers 
appear to have been the small left-wing parties.  The PSOE 
maintained its absolute majority in Andalucia (where regional 
elections were also held March 9).  Voter turnout nationwide 
was strong at 75.32 percent (compared to 75.66 percent in 
2004). 
 
¶2. (U) For the smaller parties, the breakdown of seats in the 
350-seat congress will be as follows (2004 totals given in 
parenthesis):  Convergence and Union Party (CIU) - 11 (ten); 
Basque National Party (PNV) - six (seven); Republican Left of 
Catalonia (ERC) - three (eight); United Left (IU) - two 
(five); Galician National Block (BNG) - two (two); Canary 
Coalition (CC) - two (three); the Union, Progress, and 
Democracy Party (UPD) - one (new party); and the 
Navarra/Basque Party (Na-Bai) - one (one). 
 
¶3. (U) Voting was without incident although on March 7 a 
former PSOE city councilman, Isaias Carrasco, was shot dead 
in the Basque Country town of Mondragon.  Although there has 
been no claim of responsibility, everyone assumes ETA was 
responsible.  The murder led to widespread calls for voters 
to turn out in force as a way of protesting the murder and 
may have slightly pushed up voter participation. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Congress is set to convene April 1.  The King will 
almost certainly ask Zapatero to form a government.  Since he 
is seven seats short of an absolute majority, Zapatero will 
have to negotiate a pact with one or more of the smaller 
parties.  We expect he will again be sworn in as President of 
Government by around April 9.  Cabinet changes are likely, 
and we expect names will start leaking shortly. 
AGUIRRE