Zapatero was to open the debate in the 350-seat lower house at noon. A first vote on whether he should be prime minister will be held Wednesday.

Zapatero's party won 169 seats in March 9 elections, seven short of an absolute majority.

He needs an absolute majority to be voted in as premier in the first round. However, his party expects he will have to go to a second round Friday when a simple majority — more votes in favor than against — will suffice. The 169 votes from his own party will be enough to secure his election.

Speaking Monday, Socialist party spokesman Jose Blanco said the economy and terrorism would be the main themes of Zapatero's speech.

Opposition party leaders will also deliver speeches in the nationally televised debate.

A slowdown in the once-booming economy and a resurgence of violence by armed Basque separatist group ETA are seen as the main challenges facing Zapatero in his next four-year term in office.

Most opposition parties have declined to say outright if they will support Zapatero in the vote, preferring to wait and hear what he says in the debate.

Zapatero lacked a majority in parliament in the last legislature and got laws passed by relying regularly on support from smaller parties, mainly a Catalan nationalist party and a leftist grouping. This led to charges that his government's survival depended greatly on those allies.

With five additional seats, the Socialists say they will not strike any deals up front with any particular party and are happy to run a minority government relying on backing in parliament on a case-by-case basis.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iconocast is about learning and teaching without borders; we offer eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding, and eMarketing News Services.

Iconocast Home Page

Contact Iconocast

Iconocast Health Articles

© 2003-07. ICONOCAST is a trademark of iconocast.com.