José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

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José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
77th Prime Minister of Spain
Assumed office
April 17, 2004
Vice PresidentMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega (First)
Pedro Solbes (Second)
Preceded byJosé María Aznar
Leader of the Opposition in Congress
In office
July 2000 – March 2004
Preceded byJoaquín Almunia
Succeeded byMariano Rajoy
Personal details
Born (1960-08-04) August 4, 1960 (age 63)
Valladolid, Valladolid, Castile-León, Spain
NationalitySpain
Political partyPSOE
SpouseSonsoles Espinosa

José Luis Rodríguez Zapateroⓘ (IPA: [xo'se lu'is ro'ðɾigeθ θapa'teɾo]) (born August 4, 1960 in Valladolid) is the Prime Minister of Spain. The party he leads, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), won the general election on March 14, 2004. Actions of his government have included withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, legalizing same-sex marriages and a program of legal amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Personal life and youth

Origins and youth

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was born in Valladolid on August 4, 1960, to Juan Rodríguez García-Lozano, a prominent, successful lawyer, and Purificación Zapatero [11]. He grew up in León, where his family, affluent, with a long left-wing tradition, originated. He has an elder brother, Juan Rodríguez Zapatero [1].

His paternal grandfather, Juan Rodríguez Lozano, was a Freemason and a Republican captain executed by Franco's Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, when Zapatero's father was eight years old [2].

His maternal grandfather, Faustino Zapatero, was a pediatrician and middle class liberal who died in 1978. His maternal grandmother was conservative and right-wing [3]. Zapatero was born in Valladolid not only because of his mother's attachment to her family, who lived there, but also because of the medical profession of her father.

Zapatero's family has influenced him intensely. He has said that, as a youngster, "as I remember it, I used to participate in late night conversations with my father and brother about politics, law or literature" [4]. He says that his family taught him to be "tolerant, thoughtful, prudent and austere" [5].

His grandfather's ideals and fate had an especially important influence on his father, brother and himself and on his political beliefs [6]. For example, his father added Lozano to his second surname to honor his late father Juan Rodríguez Lozano.

The memory of Captain Lozano was also kept alive by his last testament, hand written 24 hours before facing the firing squad, which can be considered a final declaration of principles. The will was composed of six parts. The first three bestowed his possessions on his heirs. In the fourth, he asked for a civil burial and, in the fifth, he requested his family to forgive those who had executed him and proclaimed his belief in the Supreme Being. In the sixth, Zapatero's grandfather asked his family to clear his name in the future ([12]) as his creed consisted only in his "love for peace, for good and for improving the living conditions of the lower classes". [7].

Zapatero started school at the religious primary school "Discípulas de Jesús" in September 1966. In September 1970, he entered the "Colegio Leonés", the only private lay school in León at the time. [8]

When he was a child and into his late twenties, his friends referred to him by a nickname: Papes, inspired by the name of a brand of shoes called Hush Puppies that used a puppy with swollen cheeks in its advertisements similar to those of Zapatero when he was a child. The pronunciation of Puppies is similar to that of Papes in Spanish. [9]

He studied Law at the University of León, where he graduated in 1982. His performance as a student was above average before his pre-University year. Then it worsened, and his grades in that year and in the University were essentially mediocre. According to his brother Juan: "He did not use to study much but it made no difference, he carried along successfully" [10].

After graduating, Zapatero worked as a teaching assistant in constitutional law at the University of León until 1986 (he continued working some hours a week without pay until 1991). He has declared that the only activity that attracts him besides politics is teaching or, at most, academic research. [11]

In October 1991, his contract was canceled by the new rector of the University of León, Julio César Santoyo, after the legal counselors of the University considered Zapatero's posts as a teaching assistant and an MP were incompatible (he had been elected in 1986). The Spanish parliament's counselors, however, had considered the contract valid.

Zapatero has never did military service, generally compulsory in Spain until recent years: he received successive deferments because of his conditions as a university student, a teaching assistant. As an MP he was finally exempted. [12]

Zapatero enters politics

Zapatero attended his first political rally on Sunday August 15, 1976. It was a meeting organized by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) in Gijón. Political parties had been legal since July 21, 1976) but the Socialist Party was not legalized until February 1977. The speech of Felipe González, the PSOE leader and future Prime Minister of Spain, who took part in the rally, exerted an important influence on Zapatero. He said, among other things, that "the Socialists' goal was the seizure of power by the working class to transform the ownership of the means of production" and that "the PSOE was a revolutionary party but not revolutionarist or aventurist [...], as it defended the use of elections to come to power". [13].

Zapatero and his family had been traditionally attracted by the Communist Party as it was the only party really organized before Francisco Franco's death in 1975. But, after the famous political rally in Gijón, they and, especially, Zapatero started to believe that the Socialist Party was the most probable future for the Spanish left. [14] At that time the Socialist Party was rebuilding its infrastructure in the province of León after being almost banished after the Spanish Civil War [15].

In 1977, the year of the first democratic elections after Franco, Zapatero supported both the Communist and Socialist Parties. He posted posters of both. [16]

He enrolled in the PSOE on February 23, 1979. The impression Felipe González caused upon him in 1976 played a fundamental role in his decision of joining the party. In 1979, the PSOE had not yet renounced Marxism as its ideological base (that happened later in 1979). He told nothing at home, because he was afraid his parents could discourage him for considering him too young.

In 1982, Zapatero became head of the socialist youth organization in the province of León. That year, in July 1982, Zapatero met Felipe González at the summer school "Jaime Vera" and requested him to make a "left turn" in the Socialist political program for the general election of October 1982 [17]. González answered advising him to abandon his conservative [leftist] viewpoint.

In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of León in the Cortes (Parliament), becoming its youngest Member after the election held on June 20. He was the number two in the Socialist list of the Province of León. [18] In the next elections (those 1989, 1993, 1996 and 2000) he was the number one. In the elections of 2004 he ran for Madrid as the number one.

In 1987, he instigated, as one of the main leaders within the Socialist Party of León, a pact to obtain the mayoralty of León after the elections held that year. The previous mayor, Juan Morano, had occupied the post since the first local democratic elections in 1979 as his independent party had always been the most voted, even in the 1987 elections, when it obtained 12 seats. The Socialist Party (9 seats) drew the deal with Alianza Popular (antecessor of the current People's Party), which had four seats, and an extinct center party called Centro Democrático Social (2 seats). The finally elected mayor belonged to Alianza Popular. Zapatero and his allies justified the civic pact, as it was called by its supporters (or the cynic or hatred pact, as was denominated by its opponents) by stating that it was necessary to change the "negative dynamics" of the city, to "normalize" its democratic life, to end its "bad relations" with other institutions (like the Regional Government of Castilla y León), to lessen the social tensions "promoted" by the independents, to eliminate the supposed system of patronage, etc. Months later the pact was broken by pressures from the Regional Leadership of Alianza Popular and Juan Moran became mayor again [19].

Zapatero defined himself as a '"left-wing conservative"' at the time. He explained that he meant that, for sentimental reasons linked to his family, he came from that Left that lost the Spanish Civil War and that what had happened between 1936-1939 (the time span of the war) and 1939-1975 (Franco's dictatorship) had a very important significance for him. He further explained that the Spanish Left needed to modernize and that "we are finding it difficult to accept the need for the Socialist Party to change many of its ideological parameter and overcoming our own conservatism". [20]

In 1988 he became Secretary General in León after a hard, complex internal fight for power that ended a long period of divisions and internal confrontation. In fact, before the provincial conference held that year, Ramón Rubial, then national president of the PSOE, asked the party in León to foster unity. Zapatero was elected as Secretary General in that conference, what meant a new time of stability [21].

In the 80's and 90's, the Socialist Party consisted of two sectors: the guerristas (supporters of Alfonso Guerra, former vice-president with Felipe González) and the renovators (led by Felipe González). The first group had a stronger left-wing ideology whereas the second was more pragmatic. The division became wider after the General Election of 1993, the last election won by the Socialist Party before José María Aznar's victory in 1996, when the bad results increased the internal enmities. Zapatero never formally joined any of the two groups.

In 1993, the Socialist Federation of León (its acronym is FSL after the Spanish Federación Socialista de León) suffered an important scandal. In some towns in a very short time, the number of members of the Socialist Party increased inexplicably from, sometimes, fewer than ten to more than one hundred. When some of the supposed new members were interrogated by the press, they affirmed to have no idea of anything and that they did not live in the places where they were being registered by the party. It seems that some opponents of Zapatero in León, perhaps with the support of powerful guerristas at the top of the Spanish Socialist Party wanted to increase their influence within it by increasing the number of members in the towns of León favorable to them. Their main aim would have been to take control of the Regional Socialist Section of Castilla y León in the conference to be held in 1994. Zapatero's support for the then Regional Secretary General, Jesús Quijano transformed him into the enemy of the guerristas in the region as the FSL is the most important Provincial Section. [22]

Zapatero was accused himself of irregularities. For example, his enemies, those who were falsifying new memberships, stated that he kept dead people as real members in the sections of the party supporting him. Not only that, in May 1994 a scandal started when two papers, El País and Diario de León, published several articles that suggested the existence of irregularities in his hiring as professor by the University of León and in his keeping the job until 1991. The suspicions of political favoritism were favored by his having been directly appointed without a previous selection process open to other candidates. On May 20, he held a press conference where he rejected every accusation. Zapatero attributed to "ignorance" or "bad faith" the content of the articles and linked them to the internal fight for the job of Secretary General of the Regional Chapter. [23]

In 1994, three regional conferences were going to be held: two to elect the representatives of the party in León for the Regional and National Conference to take place that year, and the 7th Provincial conference where the Secretary General was going to be elected.

Before they started, an agreement between the involved parties was drawn. The new members who did not confirm they had joined the party voluntarily and who did not live in the areas where they were registered would be expelled from the party. Initially 775 and finally 577 new memberships were canceled out of 1160 suspicious.

When the three conferences were celebrated, the tension in them was very high and, sometimes, it was necessary to call the police [24]. All of them were finally won by Zapatero or his supporters.

The National Conference (held after most of the representatives elected in the first León Conference were Zapatero's supporters) was won by the renovators, at that time very opposed to the guerristas. That was positive for Zapatero as the list of false memberships was revised again. Its number grew from 577 to almost nine hundred. [25]

Zapatero was finally reelected secretary general with 68% of the ballots in the 7th Regional Conference held in July 1994, after the removal of the false memberships. [26]

In 1995 new regional and local elections were held. Its results were bad for the Socialist Party in León as they lost four seats in the mayoralty of León and two seats in the regional parliament of Catilla-León. The results were influenced by the bad economic situation and the cases of corruption assailing the party. Zapatero had personally directed the electoral campaign. [27]

In 1996, after the General Election, Zapatero kept his seat at the Congress of Deputies. Next year, in 1997 Zapatero was elected again Secretary General of León and after the national conference held by the party that year he entered the National Executive (the party governing body). [28]

In 1998, the first and only primaries celebrated within the PSOE took place. There were two candidates: Joaquín Almunia and José Borrell. The Regional Chapter of León declared to be neutral. It seems that, unofficially, its leaders including Zapatero, worked harder in favor of Almunia, who was the representative of the renovators and, because of it, opposed the guerristas. Zapatero himself phoned personally (as other leaders did) as many party members as possible to request their votes for him.

On April 24, 1998 Borrell won with 9.6% more votes than Almunia in Spain and 4.6% more in León. It seems that Borrell's image of renovation played an important role in his victory. Borrell's attitude towards Zapatero seems to have been a little colder after Zapatero's support for his rival. [29]

The existence of two leaders Joaquín Almunia, Secretary General, and José Borrell, official candidate, caused problems within the Socialist party, used to being directed only by the Secretary General. Finally, two former collaborators of Borrell were accused of having been corrupt when they worked for him in the Spanish Government, and he resigned, alleging that he did not want to damage his party with the scandal. Almunia replaced him and ran for the Spanish premiership in the elections held in 2000.

The Association of Parliamentary Journalists awarded to Zapatero the "Diputado Revelación" prize (something like MP surprise of the year) in December 1999 for his activities as member of the Congress of Deputies. Since 1996 until 2000, his most conspicuous contributions as an MP were his vigorous opposition to the electrical protocol proposed by the government (initially negative for the important coal sector of León), his being the Socialist Spokesman in the Commission of Public Administration [30] and his probably most important success as an MP: the passing of an amendment to the national budget of 2000 in November 1999 that increased the pensions of the non-professional soldiers who fought for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. They were made equal to the professional military's. The initiative was defended by him in the name of the Parliamentary Socialist Group, proponent of the amendment. [31].

Appointment as Secretary General of the Socialist Party

On March 12, 2000, the PSOE had lost its second successive election to José María Aznar's People's Party. Zapatero preserved his seat, but the Socialist Party obtained only 125, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat was specially bitter as the People's Party unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority for the first time and the socialist result was worse than in the previous election. Joaquín Almunia, announced his resignation on the very day the General Election took place.

Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the Socialist Party in its 35th Conference to be celebrated in June that year. He founded together with other socialist members a new faction within the party called Nueva Vía (New Way) in April 2000, to serve him as a platform to become Secretary General. The name of Nueva Vía is a mix of Tony Blair's Third Way (tercera vía in Spanish) and Gerhard Schröder's Neue Mitte (new center or nuevo centro in Spanish). [32]

A document of New Way proclaimed the group objectives: "New Way' wants to generate a project of political and social change for and from democratic socialism, a Socialist project to allow the PSOE to recover its credibility and the citizens' trust." [33]

The members of Nueva Vía had, on average, 40 years. Among the most prominent of them were Zapatero, Trinidad Jiménez, [[Jesús Calde</ref>.

Enrique Martínez played an important role in the promotion of Zapatero. He was the director of the "Escuela Jaime Vera" a school belonging to the party that prepare Socialist Leaders. His network of contacts became essential. [34]

He and Jesús Caldera knew José Luis Balbás, prominent member of the Socialist Federation of Madrid (FSM is its acronym in Spanish). He had belonged to the Unión de Centro Democrático, the center party that won the first two democratic elections and joined the PSOE in 1981. He is an entrepreneur, an auditor and a consultant. He belonged to a sector within the FSM called "Renovadores de la Base", that amounted to a third of the FSM. (There were other two sections: the so-called leguinistas - followers of a former president of the regional government of Madrid called Joaquín Leguina and the guerristas.) [35]

In April 2000, Zapatero, Caldera and José Blanco had lunch with Eduardo Tamayo in a restaurant in Madrid, a friend of José Luis Balbás in the party. (Tamayo would become later a representative of Zapatero in the 35th party national conference and a major character in the so-called crisis of the Assembly of Madrid, described later) At the end of the month the "Renovadores de la Base" decided to support Zapatero. José Luis Balbás agreed to be part of the team of New Way after being invited by José Blanco and Enrique Martínez [36]. He played an important role during the campaign and the 35th conference. For example, Balbás together with José Blanco controlled the list of delegates with all the data about them. It was a fundamental job, as the different tasks of promotion needed that list, at least, to contact the delegates for the conference.

On June 25, 2000 Zapatero announced officially his intention to run for the federal Secretaryship General in an Extraordinary Conference of the Socialist Party of León [37]. In his speech, he stated what can be considered his declaration of principles [38]:

  1. To build a society that would accept all foreigners notwithstanding their color or cultural level.
  2. To give priority to education and to create good jobs for youngsters.
  3. To provide parents with more time to spend with their children and in taking care of their elders.
  4. To promote culture and its creators, making it possible for them to grab the spotlight from those aimed only at economic interests.
  5. To convert Spain into a country admired for helping those with more needs.
  6. To force the government to help those with initiative and enterprising qualities.
  7. To foster democracy, to lend distinction to politics and to promote values over temporary interests.

Pasqual Maragall was the only regional leader of the Socialist Party who officially supported him before the Conference was celebrated. Borrell also decided to support him. [39]

Zapatero ran against three other opponents (José Bono, Rosa Díez and Matilde Fernández). Matilde Fernández was the candidate of the guerristas while José Bono was the candidate of the reformers. Rosa Díez is a Basque politician who was a kind of intermediate option.

Zapatero was a dark horse who had against him his inexperience and in favor his image of renovation and being the only [Member of Parliament|MP] among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders have been MPs before winning the elections. That is very important in Spanish politics where electoral campaigns last for only 15 days and to be widely known long before they begin is essential.) Bono was deeply disliked by the guerristas, what also favored Zapatero significantly.

He finally won by a relatively small margin (he obtained 414 votes out of 995 and José Bono obtained 405) on July 22, 2000 [13]). The margin was relatively small because Bono had no opportunity of winning, as the supporters of the other two candidates preferred Zapatero to him. Zapatero even accepted to renounced to hold a run-off between the two most voted candidates as he was sure of his victory after only a ballot and he did not want to humiliate his adversary.

After being elected secretary general, he was congratulated by Lionel Jospin (then the French Prime Minister), Gerhard Schröder (chancellor of Germany) and José María Aznar [40].

He moved to Madrid with his family that year. As a congressman he had lived from Monday to Thursday in Madrid and the rest of days in León. [41]

Opposition leader

This was the period when José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was appointed as Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in 2000 until he became Prime Minister of Spain on March 14, 2004.

Style of opposition

Zapatero has always claimed to base his political activity on his love for dialog. When he was an opposition leader, he liked to compare his behavior with the "arrogant", "authoritarian" approach of the People's Party and, especially, that of its leader José María Aznar.

As a result, after being appointed Secretary General, he coined the term Calm Opposition (Oposición Tranquila) to refer to his opposition strategy. The Calm Opposition was supposedly based on an "open to dialogue", "soft", "constructive" attitude (talante) aimed not at damaging the government but at achieving the "best" for the people. (Zapatero has insisted on this point so many times that the term talante has become very popular in Spain.) Because of this supposed tactic, Zapatero received nicknames like "[Bambi]" or "Sosoman" (where "Soso" -- meaning dull, insipid, bore -- replaces "Super" in "Superman"), especially in the first months after being appointed General Secretary.

During Zapatero's years as an opposition leader (and later as Prime Minister), the tension between left-wing and right-wing supporters increased and, according to some opinions, a real radicalization of the society took (and is taking) place [14]. Zapatero's supporters blame his opponents for that and the People's Party blames him stating facts as the increase in the acts of violence committed against them, especially in the months before and during the Iraq war [15]. As a result, a new term has become popular: guerracivilismo [16] (made up of a combination of the Spanish for Civil War and the -ismo suffix, equivalent to the English -ism), which would refer to the growing enmity of right and left-wing factions.

As an opposition leader Zapatero enjoyed the support of an important part of the Spanish media and, especially, those belonging to the PRISA group such as the daily newspaper El País, the chain of radio stations that form the SER (Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión) or the TV channel Canal+. The PRISA group is controlled by Jesús de Polanco (one of the richest man in Spain) who has been linked to the Socialist Party in the past years. It has been claimed that he controls more media in Spain than Berlusconi in Italy. [17]

Years 2000 and 2001

Zapatero's criticism against the government was very active from the beginning. His first attack against the government was based on its inability to control the rise in the price of fossil fuel. He asked for a reduction in the taxes affecting it.

In 2000, the British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless arrived at the Gibraltar harbor to have its nuclear reactor repaired. Aznar's affirmed that there was no risk for the population but Zapatero criticized it for his inability to force the British government to take the submarine to another harbor. After almost one year, the Tireless was repaired and left Gibraltar without having caused any known problem. [18] [19].

Another point of friction came from the scheme to transfer water from the River Ebro to other areas especially the irrigated areas in the South East of Spain, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. That scheme received support from, among others, the 80% of the affected farmers and the Socialist regional governments of regions such as Extremadura, Andalusia or Castilla-La Mancha, which were, among others, the target of the scheme. Some Socialist politicians also supported it when they were members of the former Socialist government back in the 90s (e.g. José Borrell, the current leader of the European Spanish Socialist Group and president of the European Parliament [20]). The scheme was mainly contested by Zapatero, environmentalist groups, the Socialist regional government of Aragon and a part of the citizens of the areas from which water was to be transferred. The main criticisms against the scheme were the supposed damage to the environment and an argued real lack of sufficient water for all of the affected parties (the proponents of the scheme answered back that there was no risk of a serious environmental damage and that in 2003 14 times more water reached the sea than what was needed annually). (The scheme, finally approved by the Government, was canceled by Zapatero soon after becoming Prime Minister.)

Zapatero was the main proponent of the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo" ("Pact of the liberties against terrorism"), which was signed on December 8, 2000. In the first moment this pact was despised and rejected but later was considered a primal stone in the strategy against the Basque terrorism in Spain not only by the Socialist Party but by the People's Party (currently, it is considered broken by the People's Party). Zapatero's harder critics have defended that the Pact was originated by the wish of the People's Party and the Socialist Party to bury the Socialist ambiguity towards Nationalist Parties caused by the need the Socialist Party had of their votes.

At the end of the year, the Mad Cow disease came back to the spotlight after its outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticized the Government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control [21]. That disease has caused dozens of deaths all over Europe though none in Spain (March 2005).

In 2001 one of the biggest friction points between the government and the opposition was the proposed reforms affecting the education system. The People's Party introduced the so-called LOU first, a law to change the University System, and later the LOCE (Organic Act for Education Quality), which affected the Secondary Education. Zapatero harshly opposed both. The People's Party used its absolute majority in the Cortes to pass its reforms but after it had taken place an important number of protests by unions of students, which enjoyed an unusual attention of the public media although their protests had usually passed unnoticed until Zapatero's arrival.

A regional election was held in the Basque country on May 13, 2001. The socialists received 17.8% of the vote (against 17.6% in the previous 1998 elections) but lost one seat. Both, the Socialist Party and the People's Party had formed an alliance against the then ruling nationalist Basque political movements but they finally won again. The results were considered a failure [OCAM p. 319]. Nicolás Redondo Terreros, the Basque Socialist leader during the election and very opposed to the Basque nationalism and to ETA, resigned after some internal clashes, leaving his seat at the Basque parliament and in the Federal Executive. He was substituted with Patxi López, elected on March 24, 2002 [OCAM p. 320]. Patxi López had actively supported Zapatero during his campaign to become Secretary General [OCAM p. 257].

On October 21, 2001 took place a new regional election, this time in Galicia. The People's Party (led by Manuel Fraga Iribarne) obtained a new absolute majority. The Socialist party increased its number of seats from 15 to 17, but, after several years of being opposition the results were also considered bad. [OCAM p. 321]. These two negative results seemed to confirm that Zapatero's approach was not working.

On December 19, 2001 Zapatero traveled to Morocco, after the Moroccan government expelled the Spanish ambassador sine die. Javier Arenas, a prominent member of the People's Party, accused him of not being loyal to Spanish interests. Zapatero denied it and claimed that one of his purposes was to help solve the crisis [OCAM p. 327].

From 2002 to 2004

In 2002, Zapatero was chosen as the Socialist candidate for the next General Election. He was appointed directly, without a previous primary election [22].

In 2002 the People's Party Government decided to reform the system of unemployment benefits as it thought that there were too many workers who being able to find a job preferred to continue receiving public money. This led to a redefinition of who were eligible for unemployment subsidies. Left-wing parties and trade unions considered that redefinition an unacceptable reduction of rights. Zapatero became the political leader of the opposition against the reform (dubbed the Decretazo, becaused it was passed using a decree-law), which served him as his first important clash with Aznar's government.

A General Strike was announced for June 20, 2002 (the first since Aznar won the election in 1996). According to official data (including the electrical power consumption and the number of worked man-days calculated by the Social Security) the turnout was lower than 15%, the lowest since the restoration of democracy (there were four General Strikes during Felipe González premiership). The unions and Zapatero disbelieved the data and considered the strike a resounding success, with more than "10 million" workers. Whatever the result, both the People's Party government and the trade unions signed an agreement that satisfied both parties in November.

Felipe González declared in May 2002 in reference to the change in the Socialist Party that "My state of mind tells me that a change has taken place, that perhaps a second Suresnes [23] has happened, but it has yet to be proved that a new project with content and ideas really exists", thus doubting Zapatero's leadership. That declaration was expressed in a public event also attended by Zapatero, who calmly expressed his disagreement. González ended his intervention by remembering that his candidate for Secretary General was José Bono, not Zapatero. González rectified the next day affirming that either his words had been incorrectly construed or he had expressed his ideas erroneously. Bono himself confirmed his total support for Zapatero. [OCAM p. 310-311] The incident seemed to confirm that Zapatero's strategy was not working.

On October 22, 2002 Zapatero spoke in the name of the Socialist Party during the debate about the National Budget. It had been initially scheduled that Jordi Sevilla would be the Socialist spokesman but, in the last moment, he was substituted by surprise. When Jordi Sevilla, after being called by the speaker, had already descended to the floor of the Congress of Deputies, Zapatero said to him "let me do it" and climbed to the orator platform. Aznar and other members of the People's Party had previously criticized him for not representing his party in the debate, suggesting a lack of the necessary political skills. Zapatero tried to prove it was false, and it seems that his action had quite a positive effect over his supporters; although the People's Party considered his action too theatrical [OCAM p. 316].

In November 2002, the oil tanker Prestige suffered an accident in international waters[24] near Galicia (a region in the Northwestern tip of Spain) that caused a grave oil slick which mainly affected Galicia, but also, in a lesser degree all the northern coast of Spain, and even the coast of France. The tanker was ordered by the governmental authorities to be moved away from the coast because it seems that the oil is easier to recover from the water than from the sand - for example, there exist special ships prepared for that - and increasing the distance increases the affected area but decrease the number of irremediably affected places. The Prestige finally split and sank.

Zapatero blamed the PP Government management during and after the accident [25] for the accident. The decision to take the tanker away was especially criticized as Zapatero expressed it to be unnecessary. Although the Prestige was very old and in a very bad state, Zapatero thought that it should have be allowed to enter a harbor.

The accident and its consequences became the main source of Socialist criticisms and the biggest friction point, together with Iraq, until the election of 2004. A Socialist MP in the Regional Assembly of Madrid, Antonio Carmona, declared soon after the catastrophe: "We have more than enough votes, if not, we will sink another boat". [26]. He resigned because of this declarations. Jesús Caldera, who became a minister after the victory in 2004, used a manipulated document relative to the route of the Prestige in a parliamentary debate about the catastrophe, what was very criticized by the People's Party [OCAM p. 340]. These events were used by the People Party's "to demonstrate" the "demagogical strategy" of the Socialist Party.

Probably, the main point of friction between Aznar and Zapatero was the war on Iraq. Opinion polls showed that a clear majority of Spanish voters were against the American led attack against Saddam's regime (near or surpassing 90%). Among them, Zapatero who considered illegal any action against Saddam Hussein's regime and the very concept of preemptive war. Zapatero never made public his own solutions to solve the several problems affecting Iraq after its defeat in Kuwait such as the fear caused by the suspected existence of WMD or the embargo affecting the Middle East country.

His first clash with the United States is related to his stance about the war. On October 12, 2003 (Spanish national holiday) he remained sat before the American flag carried by a representation of the American army taking part in the annual military parade. He declared afterwards that his action was a protest against the Iraq war and not an insult to the American people.

On May 25, 2003, the first local and regional elections since Zapatero's appointment as leader of the Socialist party took place. The Socialist Party received a larger popular vote (what prompted Zapatero to claim his party had been the winner) but the People's Party obtained more government posts in councils and regional governments. In general, there were not too many changes in the results compared to those of the previous Elections held in 1999. An unexpected scandal, the so-called Scandal of the Madrid Assembly, affected negatively the socialist expectations of a victory in 2004. The elections in the Region of Madrid, one of the most important of Spain, had to be repeated and they were won by the People's Party. Later, in October, a regional election took place in Catalonia, whose results were worse than expected for the Socialist Party. All the Autonomous communities of Spain hold the elections to their assemblies the same day, with the exception of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country. That day coincides with the municipal elections all over Spain. Therefore, the significance of the results is big.

In 2003, the vote took place on May 25. The Socialist Party received a larger popular vote (what prompted Zapatero to claim his party had been the winner) but the People's Party obtained more government posts in councils and regional governments. In general, there were not too many changes in the results compared to those of the previous Elections held in 1999. Regarding the regional government, the Socialist lost Balearic Islands but got enough votes in Madrid as to govern through a coalition with the communists of United Left. The last victory was welcomed by Zapatero as the winner in Madrid had always won the next general election.

Other interesting fact was extracted from the outcome of the election. For example, the results in the areas affected by the Prestige disaster were especially good for the People's Party. Zapatero's opponents claimed that they proved that the Government handling of the crisis had been adequate and that Zapatero's criticisms had been unfair, demagogical and electioneering.

The victory in Madrid was not as solid as it looked.

After the election, the People's Party had lacked two seats to obtain an absolute majority. This seemed to allow an alliance of Socialists and United left to seize power. But an unexpected event happened. Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez, two socialists MPs angry at the distribution of power in the future regional government between United Left and the Socialist Party started a crisis that led to the repetition of the Election in Madrid in October 2003 with the subsequent victory of the People's Party.

This event has been one of the most obscure in Spanish recent democratic history. Zapatero did not accept the version of the socialist MPs and tried to explain it through a conspiratorial plot caused by speculative interests of the house building industry that would have bribed the MPs to prevent a Left-wing government. The People's Party, on the other hand, defended the theory that the anger of the two Socialist MPs was caused by a failed Zapatero's promise about the referred distribution of power within the Madrid section of the Socialist Party. That promise would have been made some months before the crisis in exchange of support for one of his more immediate collaborators (Trinidad Jiménez), who wanted to become the Socialist candidate to mayor of Madrid (the Spanish capital).

It was known that Eduardo Tamayo had played an active role in Zapatero's appointment as Secretary General of the party (See Zapatero's years as an opposition leader#Appointment as Secretary General), together with José Luis Balbás, the leader of the internal faction to which Eduardo Tamayo belonged, who was also expelled from the party because of the scandal.

Zapatero's team had entered into contact with José Luis Balbás through Enrique Martínez and Jesús Caldera (current Minister of Labor), who already knew him. [OCAM p. 237] In April 2000, Zapatero, Caldera and José Blanco had had lunch with Eduardo Tamayo in a restaurant in Madrid. Tamayo would become later a representative of Zapatero in the 35th party national conference. At the end of the month "Renovadores de la Base" (the faction of Tamayo and Balbás) decided to support Zapatero and the later agreed to be part of Zapatero's team [OCAM p. 238-239]. He played an important role during Zapatero's promotion. For example, Balbás together with José Blanco controlled the list of delegates. It was a fundamental job, as the different tasks of promotion needed that list, at least, to contact the delegates for the conference.

This was used by Zapatero's rivals to introduce doubts over Zapatero's leadership of the Socialist Party and over his honesty.

During the Debate over the State of the Nation, an annual debate that takes place every year on the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Zapatero was attacked harshly by José María Aznar on account of the scandal. For the first time, the opinion polls showed that most Spaniard believed than the then Spanish Prime Minister had been the winner (Zapatero had always been considered the winner since his first debate in 2001).

The scandal was specially damaging for the socialists because they had to overcome their reputation of being a corrupt party to win again the government of Spain. The two MP's rebellion seemed to prove they were unable to solve their old problems.

On November 16, 2003, the regional election for the Assembly of Catalonia was held. Two days before, Zapatero had predicted a historical victory for the Catalan Socialist Party and the beginning of the People's Party defeat. The final results were 46 seats for CiU (ten fewer than in 1999, the year of the previous election), 42 for the Socialist Party (ten fewer), 15 for the People's Party (three more), 9 for Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds and 23 (nine more) for the Republican Left of Catalonia. Zapatero attributed the bad results to the consequences of the crisis of Madrid. However, Maragall became the President of the Regional Government after a Pact with Republican Left of Catalonia and Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds. [OCAM p. 342]

That alliance supposed other setback for the Socialist Party when the Spanish newspaper ABC published that Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, leader of Republican Left of Catalonia, had met some ETA terrorists secretly in January 2004. According to ABC, Carod-Rovira would have promised to provide ETA with political support if the terrorist group did not act in Catalonia, what seemed to have been confirmed by the ETA announcement of a truce affecting only that region some months later, before the general election of 2004. Carod-Rovira resigned as vice president of the Catalan government, but continued being the leader of his party. The scandal damaged Zapatero's image, as terrorism is an important problem in Spain and Carod-Rovira's party was seen as a possible ally if Zapatero won the election.


On May 26, 2003 a Yakovlev Yak-42 plane carrying Spanish soldiers coming home from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey. The plane had been hired by an agency of the NATO and any other country could have used it. In Zapatero's view it presented clear dangers and he blamed Jose Maria Aznar and his government for neglecting aspects like the plane insurance or safety. After the 2004 March elections it was proven that there had been serious irregularities when recognizing the bodies with an important number of mistakes in the identifications. [27] [28]

Concerning the European Constitution, Zapatero criticized the People's Party Government for fighting to preserve the distribution of power agreed by the Nice treaty (December 2000) in the new European Constitution. Zapatero thought that Spain should accept a lesser share of power.

At end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 the Spanish political parties started to prepare themselves for the general election of 2004. All of the opinion polls elaborated at the time foreseen a defeat for Zapatero, as they always predicted a new victory for the People's Party. (See Zapatero and the 2004 General Election)

The General Election

This concerned the election victory of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in March 2004. Zapatero became Prime Minister of Spain after winning his first General Election in March 14, 2004.

Election campaign

The campaign for the General Election started a fortnight before March 14, 2004. The opinion polls were favorable to the People's Party, which could even repeat its absolute majority according to some of them.[citation needed]

Previously, on January 8, 2004, Zapatero had created a Committee of Notables composed of ten highly qualified experts with a considerable political weight. Its mission was to help him to become prime minister. Among its members: José Bono (his ex-rival for the Secretaryship of the party and current Minister of Defense), Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (president of the regional government of Extremadura and one of the most important socialist leaders), Miguel Ángel Moratinos (his current minister of Foreign affairs [April 2005]), Gregorio Peces-Barba (later appointed by him High Commissioner for the Victims of Terrorism, although he has already made public his resignation), Carmen Calvo (later appointed Minister of Culture), etc. [OCAM p. 313]

Ten days later, on January 18, 2004, Zapatero announced that he would only become prime minister if the Spanish Socialist Workers Party was the most voted, renouncing in advance to possible parliamentary alliances if that condition did not happen after the election. The decision was criticized by the minority parties (especially United Left, a communist party) as they considered it an attempt to attract their voters, who would prefer to ensure a defeat of the People's Party even at expense of voting for a party other than their favorite. [OCAM p. 317]

Once the campaign started, Zapatero's slogan was "we deserve a better Spain". It was complemented with the sentence "Zapatero Presidente", the acronym of which (ZP), has become a popular nickname of the current Spanish Prime Minister.

Some of Zapatero's electoral promises were: 180,000 new houses every year to buy or to rent, preservation of a balanced budget with no deficit but with a more flexible approach than that of the People's Party, bilingual education (English and Spanish, together with the official regional official language in the areas where it existed), a computer per every two students, a maximum duration for legal processes of two years or financial compensation, more investment on R&D, to make the state-owned television company more independent from the government by making his director eligible by the parliament, etc. [OCAM p. 312]

During the campaign, Zapatero criticized the People's Party harshly for its management of the Prestige crisis, its attitude towards the invasion of Iraq or the high cost of housing. Mariano Rajoy, the new leader of the People's Party after Aznar's voluntary retirement, on his part, exploited the economical successes of his party since 1996 and attacked Zapatero's foreseeable future alliances with parties like United Left or Republican Left of Catalonia (a pro-Independence Catalan party very unpopular outside Catalonia).[verification needed][original research?]

One of the most important friction points was the absence of televised debates between the candidates. Zapatero was the first to propose a debate to Mariano Rajoy, the new leader of the People's Party after Aznar's voluntary retirement. Rajoy accepted on the condition that Zapatero could not be alone but accompanied at least by two of his potential allies after the election: Gaspar Llamazares (the leader of United Left a Spanish Communist Party) and Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (leader of Republican Left of Catalonia). Rajoy justified his decision on the grounds that, in his opinion, he was not running against the Socialist Party but against a "coalition" of forces opposed to the People's Party policies. Zapatero never formally answered this proposal and continued criticizing throughout the campaign what he always defined as Mr. Rajoy's reluctance to defend face-to-face his political program. (Zapatero has promised to change electoral law to make televised debates compulsory.)

The campaign was ended abruptly two days before it was expected. (In Spain, the day before the election, called Reflection Day, any political propaganda is forbidden.)[citation needed]

The terrorist bombings of Madrid

On Thursday March 11, 2004, the most terrible terrorist attacks ever in Spanish history took place. Several commuter trains were bombed causing 191 deaths and a terrible outrage all over Spain. The attacks took place three days before the General Election and all electoral activities were suspended. The common sorrow instead of promoting unity among Spaniards increased the already bitter tone of the campaign [29].

Everybody, including the People's Party government and Zapatero (who accused ETA in a radio statement broadcast at 8:50 a.m.), initially claimed the attacks to be the work of the Basque terrorist organization ETA. Later, after an audiotape in Arabic was found in a van near a railway station where the terrorists boarded one of the trains, Aznar declared that all of the possibilities were being investigated [30]. The government was accused of manipulating the existing information about the real authorship of the attacks to avoid the consequences of public anger at a bombing "caused" by its foreign policy.

Zapatero himself has repeatedly accused the Popular Party of lying about who were those responsible for the attacks. On the other hand, in the book "11-M. La venganza" by Casimiro Abadillo, a prominent Spanish journalist who works for the newspaper "El Mundo", it is reported that, before the General Election, Zapatero told the director of that newspaper, Pedro J. Ramirez, that two suicide bombers had been found among the victims (although all the specialists that examined the bodies said they found no evidence pointing to that) [31]. When he was asked in December 2004 about the issue by the Parliamentary Investigative Committee created to find the truth about the attacks he declared that he did not "remember" what he had said.

Election day

File:Zapatero votando.jpg
Zapatero votes on March 14, 2004

After the demonstrations that took place in front of the People's Party premises all over Spain on March 13 2004 (the reflection day when, according to the law, demonstrations are forbidden), Zapatero won the election on March 14, 2004. The PSOE won 164 seats in the Cortes, and the People's Party obtained 148. It seems likely that the election result was influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the Spanish public's response to the attacks and the informative coverage by the different media and political parties.

The crowd gathered to celebrate the victory in front of the Socialist Headquarters shouted to Zapatero: "Don't fail us!" (probably remembering the disappointment caused by the former Socialist government in its last years).[original research?]

Influence of the attacks on the election outcome

An important point of controversy is if the purpose of the Madrid attacks was to force a Socialist victory, if that was the case, if they succeeded or the final result was unaltered. This has been called by the ex-Prime Minister José María Aznar, among others, the "March 4 theory" (that is, if the election had been scheduled for March 7, the attacks would have taken place on March 4). No definitive data exists in favor of that possibility but some facts have been used to support it. Thus, the first question Jamal Zougam (one of the first arrested suspects) made when he arrived at the Courthouse on Monday March 15, 2004 was: 'Who won the election?' [32].

Today it is widely accepted that the attacks had an impact on the election[33]. How it influenced the results is widely debated. The two schools are:

  • The attacks changed the electoral winner. A sufficient number of voters decided to vote for the Socialist party either because they were influenced by the political scene lived between March 11 and March 14, in which the Socialists were attacking the People's Party.
  • The attacks did change the result but not the winner. The Socialist Party was going to win but with fewer votes.

All of these controversies put a blemish on Zapatero's victory, as the shadow of what had happened the three previous days did not allow the Socialist Party to fully enjoy its triumph. The electoral result was considered by some foreign media, especially in the US, an example of weakness that would encourage further terrorist attacks as Zapatero had opposed Bush's policy in the Middle East and had promised to withdraw the Spanish troops from Iraq. Left-wingers, among others, dismissed this point of view as absurd as the Spanish people have lived in defiance of ETA for decades and Zapatero himself has firmly condemned terrorism.

On June 13, 2004 (three months after the General Election) the Election for the European Parliament took place. The Socialist Party won again with 25 seats against 25 for the People's Party (out of 54). Although José Borrell was the official candidate, Zapatero played an important role in that campaign (as it is usual in Spain).

Prime ministership: domestic policy

Much of Zapatero's work has been on social issues, including gender-violence and discrimination [34], divorce [35] and same-sex marriage [36]. The most recent social issue tackled has been the Dependency Law [37], a plan to regulate help and resources for people in dire need of them, and who cannot provide for themselves and must rely on others on a daily basis. Zapatero has also made it clear that he values funding of research and development and higher education and believes them to be essential for Spain's economic competitiveness. At the same time, he has increased the minimum wage and pursued other classically socialist policies. He has also announced his intention to undertake limited reforms to the Spanish Constitution, though no specifics have been made available.

Same-sex marriage

The legalization of same-sex marriage in Spain (became law on July 1, 2005) includes adoption rights as well as other rights that were available only to heterosexual couples. This caused a stir within the Catholic Church and was contested from their position [38].

Regional territorial tensions

Zapatero has often declared that his government will not be "soft on terrorism" and will not allow regional nationalists to endanger Spanish unity. Some say that this comment was probably made for his party alliances with parties like Republican Left of Catalonia.

On 13 November 2003 in a rally in Barcelona during the election campaign that took Pasqual Maragall to power in the Generalitat, Rodríguez Zapatero pronounced a famous promise to approve the Statute of Catalonia:

I will support the reform of the Statute of Catalonia that the Parliament of Catalonia approves. [39]

In October 2005, a controversial proposal to reform the Catalan statute arrived at the Spanish parliament after being passed in Catalonia. Zapatero, who had often expressed his support for a change of the statute (although he did not entirely support the draft passed by the Catalan Parliament), became on October 12, 2005 (Spain's national holiday), the first prime minister ever to be booed during the traditional military parade in Madrid, probably due to the large popular opposition to the new statute outside of Catalonia.

Spanish Civil War remnants

In October 2004 Zapatero's government undertook the task of morally and legally rehabilitating those who were suppressed during and after the Spanish Civil War, by instituting a Memory Commission chaired by Vice-Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega. However many see it as ill concived due to the painful memories of the victims and the ostracization of the victims on the Republican side.

On March 17, 2005, Zapatero's government ordered the removal of the last remaining statue of former dictator Francisco Franco that remained in Madrid [40].

Reform of the education system

Just after he took office, Zapatero repealed the law reforming the Education System passed by the previous government and, in November 2005, he introduced his own reform project. The project was opposed by the People's Party, the Catholic Church, the Muslim community, The Catholic Confederation of Parents' Associations and an important part of the educational community, often for disparate reasons. Complaints against the reform include the limits it imposes upon the parent's freedom to choose a school, the decrease in academic status of voluntary religious education, the introduction of a compulsory course ("Education for Citizenship") and a perceived ineffectuality of the reform in terms of combating poor educational results. The last complaint would be reinforced by the fact that, in the last few years, Spain has ranked poorly amongst the developed countries in the quality and results of its education.

After the demonstration took place the government held a series of meetings with many of the organizations that initially opposed the reform, reaching agreements with some of them (especially parents and teachers associations). Some others, most prominently the People Party and the Catholic Church, remain staunchly opposed to it.

ETA

ETA declared what it described at the time as a "permanent ceasefire" that began on midnight 23 March, 2006.[42] On June 5, 2007 ETA declared this cease-fire over.[43] After the initial ceasefire declaration Zapatero informed the Congress that steps would be taken to negotiate with ETA in order to end its terrorism campaign while denying that there would be any political price paid to put an end to ETA. [44] The PP grew concerned about the possibility of political concessions being made to the group to stop their ways, and actively opposed anything other than the possibility of an organized surrender and dismantling of ETA, refusing to support any kind of negotiation. [45] On 30 December, 2006 the ceasefire was broken when a car bomb exploded in Madrid's International Airport, Barajas and ETA claimed authorship. Following this, Zapatero gave orders to halt initiatives towards a negotiation with ETA. [46] Demonstrations across Spain followed the next day, most condemning the attack, others condemning the Government's policies and a minority even questioning the authorship of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. [47]

A massive rally in Madrid followed on February 25, 2007 promoted by the Victims of Terrorism Association (AVT in Spanish acronym), refusing what is perceived as concessions from the government to the separatist band. [48]

In March 10, 2007 a new massive rally was held in Madrid gathering -depending on the source's relationship to the government- between 342,000 and over two million people.[49] This demonstration was organized by opposition party PP and backed by the AVT and several other associations of victims, to not allow Iñaki de Juana Chaos out of prison and accusing Zapatero's government of surrendering to terrorism[50].

Immigration

During the meeting of the European Union Justice and Home Affairs Ministers held in Tampere on September 22, 2006, some of the European ministers reprimanded the Spanish authorities for the aforementioned massive regularization of illegal immigrants which was regarded as too loose and opposed to the policies of other State members (on September 2 and 3rd alone, during the height of the last illegal immigration wave, 2,283 people arrived illegaly in the Canary Islands having shipped from Senegal aboard of 27 traditional Senegalese boats [51][52].

Once they reach Spanish territory, the illegal immigrants can travel freely -for the internal frontiers are basically open- within the European Union; thus, it is not strange that some of them have as their final destination some other European country. This started a short lived polemics between France's Nicolas Sarkozy and the Spanish premier Rodríguez Zapatero [53][54][55]

Areas of foreign policy action

Iraq

Before being elected, Zapatero opposed the American policy in regard to Iraq pursued by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar. During the electoral campaign Zapatero had promised to withdraw the troops if control in Iraq was not passed to the United Nations after June 30 (the ending date of the initial Spanish military agreement with the multinational coalition that had overthrown Saddam Hussein). Zapatero declared that he did not intend to withdraw the Spanish troops before that date after being questioned about the issue by the People's Party's leader Mariano Rajoy in his inauguration parliamentary debate as Prime Minister.

On April 19, 2004 Zapatero announced the withdrawal of the 1300 Spanish troops in Iraq ([41]).

The decision aroused both international criticism and support worldwide, critics fearing that the terrorists could perceive it as a victory obtained due to the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings, while others argued that it was the policy pursued by Aznar that encouraged terrorism. John Kerry, then Democratic party candidate for the American Presidency, asked Zapatero not to retire the Spanish soldiers. Some months after retiring the troops, the Zapatero government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti to show the Spanish Government's willingness to spend resources on international missions approved by the UN.

On June 8, 2004, with the withdrawal already complete, Zapatero's government voted in the UN Security Council in favor of the Resolution 1546 where the following could be read:

"The Security Council, Recognizing the importance of international support [...] for the people of Iraq [...], Affirming the importance of international assistance in reconstruction and development of the Iraqi economy [...],
15. Requests Member States and international and regional organizations to contribute assistance to the multinational force, including military forces, as agreed with the Government of Iraq, to help meet the needs of the Iraqi people for security and stability, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, and to support the efforts of UNAMI;"

Latin America

An important change in Spanish foreign policy was Zapatero's decision to approach left-wing leaders such as Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez. Zapatero has played an important role in the improvement of the relation between the Cuban government and the European Union.

At the end of March 2005, Zapatero traveled to Venezuela to draw a deal to sell Hugo Chávez's regime military ship and aircraft worth around US$1000 million. The decision was criticized by both the American government and the People's Party.

After the election of Evo Morales in Bolivia, Spain was one of the countries the new president visited during his first international tour.

United States

The relations between José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and George W. Bush have been difficult, mostly as a result to Zapatero's opposition to the war in Iraq.

In October 2003, during the Hispanic Day military parade held in Madrid, then opposition leader Zapatero remained seated when a U.S. Marine Corps honor guard carrying the American flag walked past Zapatero and other VIPs. Everybody else stood as with the rest of the guest foreign armies representations.[56]Zapatero intended this as a protest before the Iraq war which was under way; his gesture caused a short lived polemics about its convenience in the context of a protocolary act. As a result of this, after Zapatero was elected, American troops were instructed by their government not take part during the traditional military parade on the Spanish national holiday in 2004 and in 2005, something which they used to, as both the Spanish and American armies are part of joint humanitarian missions in places like Afghanistan and elsewhere; American troops returned to the military parade in 2006; this time Zapatero, being the Spanish premier, stood still.[57]

Zapatero publicly stated his support for John Kerry as a candidate running in the American Presidential Election in November 2004. After the election took place, Bush did not return Zapatero's congratulation phone call though the White House firmly denied that Bush's intention was to snub the Spanish prime minister. [42]) Meanwhile Zapatero has repeatedly insisted that Spain's relations with the United States are good.

Later on, during an official visit to Tunisia shortly after Zapatero was elected, he asked all of the countries with troops in Iraq to withdraw their soldiers. This declaration moved the U.S. president George W. Bush to send a discontent letter to the Spanish premier.

In May 2007 Condoleeza Rice officially visited Spain, interviewing with Zapatero.

Europe

Zapatero's predecessor, José María Aznar, defended a strong Atlanticist policy. Wheras Zapatero's policies have dismembered that mentality and proposes the approximation for countries like Cuba and Venezuela. It has also sponsored the idea of an Alliance of Civilizations which is cosponsored by Erdogan.

File:Zapateronividhia1.jpg
Zapatero meets former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former French President Jacques Chirac

In the writing of what was to be the European Constitution Zapatero accepted the distribution of power proposed by countries such as Germany and France. After signing the treaty in Rome together with other leaders, he decided to call for a referendum, which was held on February 20, 2005. It was the first in Europe, a fact highly publicized by Zapatero's government. The turnout was the lowest in Spanish history, only 41%. Of those voters, 75% voted in favor of the European Constitution, which had been defended by the most important parties (including the Socialist Party and the People's Party) [43] but was then given the touch of death when France voted to reject it months later in its own referendum.

France and Germany

On 1 March, 2005, Zapatero became the first Spanish prime minister to speak to the French National Assembly.

Zapatero directly supported the SPD candidate, former Chancellor Schröder, before the German election of September 18, 2005. He also declared that Angela Merkel, the Christian Democrat candidate, would never become the Chancellor (Kanzler) of Germany, something which she actually did. According to some opinions, that might have affected German-Spanish relationships negatively. [citation needed]

Gibraltar

Zapatero complained about Gibraltar's celebrations for the tercentenary of its occupation by United Kingdom and rejected the Gibraltarians' requests for Spain to recognize its right to self-determination.

At the end of 2004, Zapatero decided to change his policy and became the first Spanish president to accept the participation of Gibraltar as a partner on the same level as Spain and the United Kingdom in the discussions both countries hold regularly about the colony. The decision was criticized as a surrender of the Spanish rights to sovereignty over the British colony as well as a disruption of the Treaty of Utrecht. Zapatero justified it as a new way to solve a 300-hundred-year-old issue.

Israel and Palestine

See: 2006 Franco-Italian-Spanish Middle East Peace Plan.


References

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  2. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 54
  3. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 58
  4. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 31
  5. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 294
  6. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 31
  7. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 51 fol.
  8. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 59
  9. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 62
  10. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 71
  11. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 98
  12. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 82
  13. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 29 fol.
  14. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 111
  15. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 110
  16. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 111
  17. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 39
  18. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 130
  19. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 138 fol.
  20. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 141
  21. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 150
  22. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 169 fol.
  23. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 102 fol.
  24. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 187
  25. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 188
  26. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 100 & 192
  27. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 196
  28. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 203
  29. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 210 fol.
  30. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 200
  31. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 40
  32. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 232
  33. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 234
  34. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 236
  35. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 237
  36. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 238-239
  37. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 244
  38. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 245
  39. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 253
  40. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 287
  41. ^ (OCAM) Óscar Campillo Madrigal. [Zapatero. Presidente a la Primera] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). 1st ed. updated. (La Esfera de los Libros, Spain, April 2004). ISBN 84-9734-193-7. p. 201
  42. ^ http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/ETA/declara/alto/fuego/permanente/elpporesp/20060322elpepunac_3/Tes
  43. ^ [1]
  44. ^ http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2006/06/29/espana/1151579293.html
  45. ^ http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2006/06/29/espana/1151583675.html
  46. ^ http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Zapatero/He/ordenado/suspender/todas/iniciativas/desarrollar/dialogo/ETA/elpepuesp/20061230elpepunac_4/Tes
  47. ^ [2]
  48. ^ [3]
  49. ^ [4]
  50. ^ [5]
  51. ^ [6]
  52. ^ El País, October 9th, 2006, in Spanish
  53. ^ [7]
  54. ^ [8]
  55. ^ [9]
  56. ^ Zapatero (right, bottom) seated during the Hispanic Day military parade in 2003 as the Stars and Stripes marched
  57. ^ [10]

See also

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
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Official

Press

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