New figures showing rising unemployment, sinking house prices and a stalling economy have rocked the Spanish Government in the final days of a bitterly fought general election.

Hours after being proclaimed the victor of the second televised debate José Luis RodrÍguez Zapatero, the Socialist Prime Minister, struggled to explain why more than 50,000 Spaniards lost their jobs last month.

Unemployment now tops 2.3 million, or 8.6 per cent, as struggling construction firms make workers redundant and the property bubble deflates.

The two main political parties this week began a final assault to capture undecided voters before Sunday’s poll. The Prime Minister and Mariano Rajoy, his conservative opponent, have clashed in two ill-tempered television debates over the slowing economy, rising immigration and the fight against terrorism.

The opposition leader repeatedly called the Prime Minister a liar and accused him of insulting the victims of Eta by holding peace talks with the Basque separatist group last year.

Polls showed that the Prime Minister was thought to have won both debates but neither candidate was able to land a knockout blow. Analysts said that the duels, which attracted record television audiences, had galvanised voters but failed to give either candidate a commanding lead.

Spanish media are barred from publishing polls in the final week of the campaign but the latest studies suggest that Mr Zapatero is leading by between 1.5 and 5 percentage points, enough to form a government but not to secure an absolute majority.

Such a result would again force the Government to turn to small parties for support – which would probably give Basque and Catalan nationalists greater say over policy. The Interior Ministry has placed the country on high alert for the possibility of a pre-election bomb attack by Eta.

The Popular Party had made the peace talks with Eta its main topic, accusing the Prime Minister of surrendering to terrorists.

The theme played well with its own supporters but failed to win converts. So the opposition has changed tack, highlighting the slowing economy, rising prices and the high rate of immigration.

SPANISH PRACTICES

— Spain has a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 259 seats and the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 seats

— During a general election all deputies and 208 senators are elected directly by a popular vote to serve four-year terms. The other 51 senators are appointed by regional legislatures

— As in the 2004 election, the Popular Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) are the main competitors

— The 2004 election had a high turnout of 77 per cent of registered voters. The Socialists won victory with 164 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 81 in the Senate

Sources: IFES; Times database

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