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Voting Begins in Spanish Elections

   VOA News  May 22, 2011
   An official checks Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
   Zapatero's identification before voting, with his wife Sonsoles
   Espinosa at left, at a voting center in Madrid, May 22, 2011

Photo: AP

   An official checks Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
   Zapatero's identification before voting, with his wife Sonsoles
   Espinosa at left, at a voting center in Madrid, May 22, 2011

   Voting began in Spain Sunday in elections that are forecast to result
   in huge losses for the ruling Socialists.
   The local and regional elections are seen as a test of how much the
   ruling party's support has crumbled amid soaring unemployment and its
   handling of the country's financial crisis.
   The opposition Popular Party is expected to make major gains ahead of
   general elections due by next March which could see the party return to
   power.
   Spain's unemployment rate stands at 21.3 percent, the highest in the
   European Union. The jobless rate for people between the ages of 18 and
   25 is even higher, at 45 percent.
   Thousands of Spaniards have defied a government ban on demonstrations
   that took effect Saturday and continued protesting unemployment and the
   weak economy.
   So far, police have not intervened to stop the nationwide
   demonstrations.
   The mostly peaceful protests have been organized largely through social
   media such as Twitter by young activists who say they were inspired by
   the protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Those demonstrations brought down
   the governments in both countries.

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