Voter turnout in Spain's European elections stood at 33.9 per cent two hours before polling stations closed, about the same as in 2004, the Interior Ministry announced, according to dpa. The elections were seen mainly as a popularity test for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero amid a deep economic crisis. On casting his vote, Zapatero urged Spaniards to vote in large numbers to demonstrate the country's European vocation. The electoral campaigns of Zapatero's Socialists and the opposition conservatives, however, had focused almost exclusively on domestic politics. In 2004, voter turnout was 45 per cent. This time, opinion polls had predicted a lower turnout, after the two big parties focused on mutual mud-slinging during the electoral campaign. About 35 million people, including citizens of other European Union countries, were eligible to elect 50 legislators to the European Parliament. Voting proceeded normally except for a few minor incidents, such as an act of arson that sparked a fire at an office of the conservative People's Party (PP) in Olivenza in the south-west. Opinion polls gave the PP a slight lead over the governing Socialists, who have been accused of not acting early and efficiently enough against soaring unemployment. The PP was seen as needing a clear victory for its leader Mariano Rajoy to reaffirm his leadership after losing two legislative elections to Zapatero, who took power in 2004. The European elections came as Spain was struggling to rise out of its deepest economic slump in 60 years. The effects of the international crisis have been worsened by the meltdown of Spain's key housing sector. The Bank of Spain says the economy will shrink 3 per cent this year, while the European Commission expects unemployment - currently at 17 per cent and already the union's highest - to climb to about 20 per cent in 2010. Recently, however, the government has claimed to see small signs of a recovery in the economy. The PP has been unable to take full advantage of the government's economic troubles because of a corruption investigation involving some of its regional leaders. The electoral campaign was the most dismal seen in Spain since the country became a democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the daily El Mundo complained. The main parties took little interest in European issues, instead focusing on domestic matters such as mutual corruption accusations or the government's plans to liberalize abortion. The candidates even squabbled over whether Zapatero used military planes to travel to electoral rallies, or whether former conservative premier Jose Maria Aznar had too many government-paid bodyguards. Spain's main parties had sunk into a quagmire of "gratuitous attacks and insults," making citizens lose confidence in the political class, the daily La Vanguardia complained.
