Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2010, when Spain’s general election was expected in 2012. It was brought forward to 20 November 2011 and won by Mariano Rajoy (PP); Zapatero did not run.
With the upcoming elections in mind, which official and unofficial polls say are leaning toward the PP (People’s Party) candidate, Mariano Rajoy, our reader Sandro plans to run a study of what social media users think. He isn’t trying to predict who will win the next election, only to find out which of the two users would prefer as prime minister.
For those who don’t know me, let me say up front that I keep my distance from politics. I have often complained about the measures taken by the current government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which I find out of place, especially the blatant revenue-raising ones. Even so, I’m aware, and I hope everyone knows this, that Zapatero didn’t get us into this crisis, although it is now his job to get us out of it.
I’m also aware that Spain is not a toy, and fixing the Spanish economy isn’t like fixing a toy. I honestly think that neither Rajoy, nor Zapatero, nor Gaspar Llamazares (leader of the left-wing coalition Izquierda Unida) would have got us out of this by now. As one of the world’s best economists said in 2008, Spain’s situation would not improve for at least five years, whatever was done.
On the other hand, as the businesswoman Victoria Bernal puts it, “if a left-wing government has passed measures that hurt workers, God knows what a right-wing government would have done.”
None of that changes the fact that, serious as things are, as the old folks back home say, “this ZP is really messing up” (ZP being Zapatero’s nickname).
So I invite you to take part in this special “poll” for social media users. As you can see, the pages of both candidates are here; all you have to do is click “Like” on the one you’d prefer as prime minister. May the best man win.
Featured image: Yann Droneaud from Paris ( France )., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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