Fate of Spanish Government is Linked to ETA

While the Spanish government is focusing on ETA without excluding the Al Qaida possibility, it is claimed that this attitude is merely a tactic for the upcoming polls. It has been stated that if Al Qaida becomes the prime suspect, it might influence a change in the voters’ preferences hours before the polls which could cause the government fall. The current government fears that the support given to America in Iraq could have paved the way for an Al Qaida attack. The Basque Autonomous regional government made a statement yesterday that it was abnormal for the government to insist that ETA was the prime suspect while everybody else thinks that it was Al Qaida.

Today in Spain nearly 34 million voters are going to the polls to determine the 350 seats up for grabs in the parliament. In Spain, where more than 90 percent of people are against the Iraq war, it is stated that if Al Qaida was responsible for the incident it would be a serious blow to the current government.

The election is expected to be contested between the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Laborer’s Party (PSOE). The government PP was 5 percent ahead of the opposition PSOE in public polls conducted before the attacks. After the terrible incident in the capital the parties canceled their election campaigns and instead issued messages of unity.