Spaniards reeling from an economic crisis voted on Sunday in an election expected to throw out the ruling Socialists and bring in a centre-right party which promises only harsher austerity measures.
A grim mood dominated as people went to the polls against a background of soaring unemployment, cuts in public spending and a debt crisis that has put Spain in the front line of the euro zone’s fight for survival. “Being a civil servant I’m not optimistic about it as we’re already seeing the cuts coming through,” said Jose Vasquez, 45, who was among the early voters in the capital Madrid.
“We can choose the sauce they will cook us in, but we’re still going to be cooked.”
Pre-election opinion polls gave the conservative People’s Party (PP), led by Mariano Rajoy, an unassailable lead over the Socialists, who have led Spain from boom to bust in seven years in power.
Voters are angry with the Socialists for failing to act swiftly to prevent the slide in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy and then for belatedly bringing in austerity measures that have slashed wages, benefits and jobs.
Yet people now seem resigned to further cuts, including in health and education, in the midst of a European debt crisis that has pushed Spain’s borrowing costs to critical levels.
“At least we’ll see a change in stance. They (the PP) seem more technical to me, it seems they understand the situation better and are more serious than the guys we have now,” said Juan Costas, a retiree.
Spain’s bleak economic outlook hung over the election campaign. Its economy is threatening to slip into recession next year for the second time in three years.
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