The United Left, which includes the former communist party, won 11 seats in the lower house, its best showing since the mid-1990s and way up from the previous legislature when it had only two seats. "Difficult times are coming," Rajoy, 56, told supporters in his victory speech, with financial markets hungry for details on how he will attack a steep public deficit threatening to push the euro zone's fourth economy toward a perilous bail-out. The nation's borrowing costs are at their highest since the euro zone was formed and yields on 10-year bonds soared last week to close to 7 percent, a level that forced other countries like Portugal and Greece to seek international bail-outs. “Countries like Spain are on the brink,” said Fernando Fernandez, an economist and former International Monetary Fund official who teaches at IE Business School in Madrid. “This government will have the moral authority” to make changes, he said. The Socialists had 4 million fewer votes than in the 2008 election.
– Spain's conservatives won a decisive victory yesterday, grabbing a clear majority of the parliament and returning to power for the first time since losing to the socialists in 2004, reports the Washington Post. The People's Party won 186 of 350 seats in the lower house, giving it the power to take strong action to reform the economy in the face of soaring debt and 22.6% unemployment, the highest in Europe. “Countries like Spain are on the brink,” said one economist. “This government will have the moral authority” to make changes, he added. But others pointed out that the Popular Party's victory did not come from gaining support—it had just 500,000 more votes than 2008—as much as from the socialists losing it, as leftist voters fled for a host of minor parties. "There aren’t going to be any miracles, but we didn’t promise them," said PP leader Mariano Rajoy, now the incoming prime minister who is expected to introduce heavy cuts in spending in an attempt to win over international investors. "Spain's voice must be respected again in Brussels and Frankfurt. We will stop being part of the problem and will be part of the solution."