ONE OF Tony Blair's favourite Europeans was put out on his ear last week. Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez's PSOE got its comeuppance after thirteen years in office.
In 1982 the party was elected on a wave of working class enthusiasm. A modern Spain was promised, of deGonzalez: fell after implication in assassination of Basque independence fighters mocracy and extended welfare proviSTON At first there were reforms to education, national rights within the Spanish state, and some changes for the better in abortion rights. But the PSOE has tradiction of Euro-austerity. In order to achieve the targets of Maastricht public spending has had to be slashed.
The sUb's so-callee labour reforms have stripped workers of rights and made it easier for bosses to make sackings.
A third of Spanish workers are now on temporary contracts, When Gon zalez was first elected the figure was four per cent.
Attacks on working class living standards have been accompanied by revelations and allegations of gross corruption and brutality.
Four former interior ministry officials have been arrested on charges of organising death squads.
Gonzalez has been conducting a dirty war against the leadership of the Basque separatist movement.
It is widely alleged in the Spanish press that the person behind the paramilitary canes that murdered over 20 separatists in France in the 1980s was the PSOB interior minister Jose Barrionuevo—or even Gonzalez himself.
The People's Party may now put together a governmental coalition, with its 38.9 per cent of the poll augmented Canary Islands Dy Catalan, Basquc, and Valencia right wing nationalists.
It has until the end of the monthwith the investiture vote for leader Jost Maria Aznar expected at the beginning of April.
But the PSOE did remarkably well despite their record in government. They got 37.5 per cent of the vote.
Gonzalez benefited in particular anism-the PP has its roots in Franco's regime.
There is also widespread opposition to cuts in welfare-especially from the old and rural poor. PP leaders were PP leoder Jost Maria Aznar, flanked by his son and wife, ot a PP election rally forced to deny that they are going to press ahead with a programme of pri vatisation and cuts.
It is still possible for Gonzalez to make an alliance with the United Left, which won 10.6 per cent.
The United Left has grown rapidly over the ast few wears since the Spanish Communist Party joined forces with a number of far left groups.
But it remains a fragile alliance, with a number of stresses and strains-particularly ofer the role of the ex-Communist Party. It has a red-green manifesto and is committed to defending welfare against the attacks of the right. It has therefore spent a great deal of time in the last few years alcking the PSOE for implementing neo-liberal economics.
Now that the PP looks like stepping into the PSOE's shoes it has to find new tactics for the new situation. The choices it makes will be decisive for the Tuture of the spanish workcis move ment.
Obituary: Mihalis Raptis (Pablo) associated with the analysis of the Eastern European overichel Pablo (1911-1996) died on February 17 in Athnational and one of its key thinkers. He is particulary pated in work brigades in solidarity with the Yugoslav revolution In 1954, with the launching of the Algerian insurrection, the Fourth Inter. national enormously increased the scale of its work in solidarity with cotonial revolutions, Pablo was in the Socialist Outlook 99 • March 16, 1996.