What can I say...
11.000.000 people are going to have just what they do deserve.

berta, Madrid, Spain

This is Spain.

Not everyone is bullfighters

Not all are gypsies or nomads

Nor is a separatist group ETA.

ETA IS A TERRORIST GROUP

Antonio, Madrid, España

The political map of Spain is rather curious. The socialists dominate in the south, some parts of the north and Cataluña and Aragon while whole swathes of the country from the NW to the SE are blue. In fact the PP control more "autonomous communities", and if wasn't for the crushing dominance of the socialists in Cataluña would actually have the same number if not more seats. In Madrid, the PP increased their control considerably and made significant inroads elsewhere. ZP has danced to the Catalan tune well, taking votes of the left-wing parties there and helping to earn him another four years.

Marcus, Madrid,

Mr Robinson: "It is a sad day for liberties in Spain. 11 million Spaniards welcoming less liberty "? Are you sure you are not confusing political parties? Indeed it was the Popular Party who had very strong links with the catholic church and with Spain's terrible past in the hands of Franco.
Please do us all a favour and learn to respect what the MAJORITY of the Spanish people have voted for. That is what democracy is about.

Paula, London, England

Eco, you live in a bubble, a defleating property bubble, you don't know what you're saying... modern Spain? Better country? Explain filthy neighbourghoods, people protesting in the streets, higher unemployment and less foreign investment, higher domestic violence as something "modern"?, higher number of people living in ghettos and people shooting people like we've never had it before. Apart from ETA -yes, a TERRORIST group.
Zapatero is a dreamer, living in his 80 cents coffee eden, can't stand up properly, doesn't have a strong polititian's pose, you can see he's not confident AND he wasn't during the debateS against Rajoy. He's only a "chubby-cheeks", blue-eyed muppet who's won the house-wives votes, bought the innocent pensioners' and played with the immigrants unfounded fears, making them think that the right wing is the evil.
Have a thought for the first time in your life & stop believing everything you hear in TV: left-run Spanish (laughinstock)TV.
Thanx 4 publishin my commen

cheshirecat, Barcelona,

News about Mr. Zapatero ruling the country for 4 more years are excelent for Spain. Over the last term, he has widely demostrated his honesty and capability to convey the country towards high-end levels of social wellbeing and sensitiveness for almost all social classes.

PP ought to embrace a wide-range renewal process, mainly led to steering the party to more moderate positions. This is very necessary for our country in order to ensure a sound politcal debate.

Guillermo, London, UK

Maria Fernandez in Madrid:

Do your maths and you'll see which parties need less votes on average for their seats and which constituencies are overrepresented.

Just be in for a little surprise

Josep, Barcelona,

The conservative party in Spain (PP) needs a sound reform in order to become a modern party and a reasonable alternative. Although the party has proved to have effective economic policies during the eight years of conservative government in Spain (1996-2004), the fact that many voters associate this party with the ideas of the old francoist regime is a drawback that PP cannot afford anymore. To break the ties with right wing extremists and to distance itself from the influence of the most rancid principles of the Spanish Catholic Church are steps that need to be taken, regardless of the risk of initially losing potential voters. Once the Spanish society accept PP as a modern european party there will be more opportunities for it to rule in Spain and work for the benefit of the Spanish people.
Also, a more constructive opposition would be benefitial for all. Although the Socialist government has made mistakes during the last four years, its achievements should be ackowledge.

Francisco Rivas, Luton, UK

Referring to ETA as a 'separatist group' is like referring to Al Qaida as a 'religious group' - utter nonsense.

John, London,

I am surprised by many of the visions about Spain reallity at this section. These people who insult Zapatero are not real democrats. These are the same people than four years ago said Spain was about to sink under socialist rule! Now they just beg for a terrible economic crisis to blame Zapatero. Sorry for them, as unemployment rate has been reduced from 11% to 8% during the last four years. This is the real thing, not their sad hopes for Spain. We have to respect the others and to be honorable in defeat. Many Spaniards do not trust democracy if they lose the polls. Bristish people are much more mature at this point!

Pedro, Gijon, Spain

I am so sorry to say that David´s -from Malaga- view is far from being balanced or reality based. To call Zapatero a "leftist zealot" is too exaggerated to be taken seriously. As it is to say that Socialist Party is the devil in desguise.
But David´s opinion is a valuable example of the strategy of catastrophe led by the Spanish Conservative Party.
Facts have proved that you can not move people to believe in a pack of lies through repeating them time and time again.
Good luck Zapatero.
Good luck David from Malaga.

José Manuel, Vigo, Spain

I can't understand how you people are reproach one to other and nobody has answer to the Basque independentist.
I am goingo to do.
Of course nothing is black or wihite, but are you really telling to us that is hard for someone to loos his mother in road? And how can you defend that your friends kill other people because they think different from you? All the ideas are rightful untill the moment that you kill for them.

Ana, Madrid, Spain

The new appointment of such a leftist zealot like Zapatero as Prime Minister is the worst new since the March 2004 terrorist massacre in Madrid (which of course the Socialists have not mentioned during all their election campaign), and one of the symptoms of the blackened future that is awaiting this country.
The Times, like most of the foreign press, with its classical mixture of ignorance and commonplaces that conforms their vision of Spain (i.e. Eta is still just a violent separatist group), are unable to see the reality: It is not Zapatero and the Psoe struggling with Franco's ghost and the Inquisition. The awful truth is that the Psoe is one of the most sectarian and corrupt political parties in Europe and that they will be unscrupulous to seize all the State resources for their own benefit, as they did in the (very recent) past.

David, Malaga, Spain

forget about the civil war please and think about the one that is coming, a war with ETA as their allie or their enemy, I do not know yet. I am really sorry because where is the democracy in Spain? what is the value of the pity votes? Should we rely on them for winning and election?? I am doubting too much about yesterday. PP won, although PSOE also won. could anyone anwer to me who win? Not the democracy or the peace. Good luck Zapatero, altough I also doubt about his lack in the following four, hopefully, years of governance.

lucia, london, uk

Is sweeping into power synonomous with havibg no overall majority?

Denis, Colchester,

Can "The Times" explain what they consider a "terrorist group" and what's a "separatist group". Because in Spain we condider a couple of political parties as "separatist" wich is something perfectly legitim but we consider ETA as terrorist, meaning "those who use of terror to achieve political objectives"....

Eduardo, Madrid, Spain

Both PSOE and PP have very similar economic policies. The crisis is due to the global credit squeeze and to Spain's dependency on construction. For what I know, the difference between PP and PSOE in Spain is based on social aspects alone. PP is not just another european christian-democracy group, but the fruit of 40 years of dictatorship. They are the ones who love to cut liberties in Spain, and they also seem fond of filling their pockets with public money.

Murciano, Leeds,

to Amelia who thinks people supporting ZP are stupids. I am one of those but i can't consider myself as stupid as you who denies the reality. If it wasn't for the last 4 years our country would have gone backwards into a kind of dictatorship. No, we don't need or want that. The people have had their say. If you don't like it, don't come back!

Olga, Teddington, UK

1. Times: ETA is a terrorist group and you don't seem to get it...
2. Congratulations to the socialist party because they are changing the views in Pais Vasco and Cataluna towards a main spanish national party.It looks the vascos and catalanes want to be spanish for now,
3.Congratulations to the Partido Popular for mantaining their principles.They probe day in and day out that the only problem in present Spain are the left wing ideas,associated with terrorists and separatists.
4. I hope,one day the socialist voters are more moderate in their comments and they understand the other 10 million voters are normal people,honest people...I hope ,one day sociaists are proud of a country called Spain.I hope people will remember the socialists created a terrorist group called GAL and have their politicians still in jail for what they did during Felipe Gonzalez era.
Good luck to Zapatero, it was a good victory for Spain.

Rafael , London, UK

The record for ruining Spain's economy is the right-wing's. They were the ones who started a civil war in Spain by revolting against the Popular Front. 1936's economy wasn't recovered until 1959!

Republicano, Murcia,

Regarding the joke about Soria [a city deep in the Spanish heartland] where I was born, I need to say that, last September, I was interrogated by the Israelí Security in the Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, bacause of that.
The officer read Syria in my passport and, folks, believe I managed to made up her mind about the reasons to visit and leave Israel.
They seem to be paranoic!.
Oh, is true: spanish primer ministers usually try to emerge as international leaders and, be sure of it, Spain is "middle class" in terms of international plicy.
Ciao!.

Pepe, Soria, Spain

Bad news for freedom in Spain. We're four years away from becoming Europe's Venezuela.

Juanma, Madrid, Spain

The only consolation for those who wanted to see Zapatero defeated yesterday is that come the next General Election there will be few Spaniards willing to vote him for a third time. He is the most ill-equipped prime minister I could think of, and the crisis that he and his government have been nurturing for the past 2/3 years without taking heed of all the warning signals, will haunt him until the electorate decides finally that his time is over. Sorry for the people who would never vote for him as they will suffer the crisis as well but I think that it is a price worth paying if that means that his political credit will be well exhausted the next time the Spaniards go to the polls.

Félix, Madrid, Spain

Luckily, common sense has won over the ever so dramatic mind of the conservatists in Spain.
Rajoy has failed in his attempts to instigate an era of power and control by making people feel afraid, and the Spanish population has had their voice heard in the elections.
While it is true that during the four next years the government will have to focus its attention to the economy, it is also true that Spain was in need of some social reforms during the last term.
Spain is gradually becoming a modern and liberal country and will continue to do so over the next four years!

Carme, Barcelona, Spain

Zapatero is the best. If Rajoy had won, I'm sure It would have been really bed for Spain. Everybody knows that the economy problem is GLOBAL, not Spanish, but Spanish economy rises becouse of the new houses, so if there aren't new houses, the economy will be bad. But Zapatero will try to decrease the dependence of the construccion, and make new ways of economy. All countries have economy problems every ¿15? years and the politic parties have more or less the same point of view. Why not the same in Spain?

Mark, Segovia, Spain

I don't think ETA has influenced so much in the elections. All the polls said before elections that the PSOE would be the winner. The problem in Spain is that the alternative of the Popular Party is not good, its campaign wasn't good and neither its candidate. People vote PSOE because is the "less bad".

jimmy, madrid,

We'll show other countries how Spain is prepared to overcome an economical crisis like no other big country in Europe.

mike, madrid,

It is sad to see how groups like ETA influenced once more the outcome of Spanigh general elections. Once more the terrorist groups have influenced Spanish Politics.

Another four years of devolution for Spain.

Carlos Blanco, Walton On Thames, U.K.

I am the girl of Rajoy. PSOE has returned to win. My fathers have been two unemployed. Mortgages have continued to climb and have lost the floor of 30 meters. I had to leave my studies because studies grants are for emigrants. Now I am a whore and in my house are thrilled because someone keeps. Viva el PSOE¡¡¡¡¡¡

victoria, madrid, spain

Come all ye, oh!, come all ye to this paradise of new civil rights and economic bounty, ye will not be deceived.

Jose, Madrid, Spain

Popular's Partly must go into a self-critic period and change theirs last four years of ultra-right turn. They must also see that isn't good for a country that oppositor politician only threat of panic spread among the spanish people because of ETA and "country breaks" by nationalism. Popular's say nothing about economy in four years, only worry of that since few weeks ago because election campaign period.

(Excuse me, I must improve my english...)

TxEtXu, Murcia,

Spain doesn't have a real Democracy until we'd change the Electoral law. With the unfair law we have these days the constituencies in Spain don't have the same value in order to have members in the Parliament. Due to it, those kind of parties with few votes have the control in the Spanish politian. The PSOE usually have alliances to govern with those parties with an important political price and concessions.
On the other hand, I'm not like to discuss about legal or moral advantages, I only would like to clarify that Spain since we have Constitution is a country where the religion and politics are separated, in the State Schools Catolic religions isn't a obligatory subject, it is in this way previous Zapatero goes to Moncloa.
Another think I would like to clarify is that people from ETA aren't otulaw or romantic renegades, are killer.

María Fernández, Madrid, Spain

Thank God I no longer live in Spain. If we ever needed proof of how stupid some of my fellow countrymen really are here it is.

Zapatero hasn't made Spain a more modern or better country; He has managed to ruin the economy, taken away its people's civil liberties and destroy our unity.

Amelia, London,

I think you are doing a great job keeping yourself neutral. Terrorist is a word that has become an insult.

You can call ETA terrorist but in the same way, the basque prisoner that has lost his mother in the road because he is 600 kilometres away from home, can call terrorist to the goverment as well. The politician that is in prison because of his independentist ideas, could also call terrorist to the government. The young people that is tortured by the police also could. Also could the journalists that were tortured and sent to prison after being closed their newspaper. and i could go on...

Just keep being neutral, because in this conflict not everything is white and black

Basque independentist, Donostia, Basque Country,

Religious education was optional since 1976 in public schools

javier, Zaragoza, Spain

This article makes an accurate assesment of the political situation in Spain, but please do not call "separatist group" a terrorist band because this seems to give them some kind of legitimacy to their actions, which is really painfull for all the democrats and victims who have been fighting against their terrorist madness and for democracy and freedom in Spain. Now Spain is a strong democracy and it has been for 30 years there´s no dictator to fight against, we have the polls to express our will. we want peace.

Richard, Valencia, Spain

Spain is going to go through the worst possible economic crisis since 1973 with Zapatero in power.

His social policies in the last 9 months have been nothing but "bribes" to secure power without any second thought as to how they will be financed. Such a huge (and still unquantified) increase in public expenditure at a time of economic uncertainty defines somebody that is not as interested in the long term prosperity of Spain as in his own ambitions.

Spain voted him in and Spain will suffer as a result.

Pedro, London,

Reading the word 'murder' referred to a ETA killing in this newspaper is a great new for Spain and for democracy in general.

Now you need to make the next step; call them by their name: terrorist group. An innocent murdered in front of his house with his daughter and his wife as witneses... It's a shame

Guille, Madrid, Spain

Divorce is to blame for economic problems? America should be a third world paradise, Mr. Klein from California.
It would be better to ANALYSE where our money is spent within the social welfare system before spouting such ridiculousness.

marc grau, madrid, spain

It is a sad day for liberties in Spain. 11 million Spaniards welcoming less liberty and a poorest economy.

Charles Robinson, Madrid, Spain,

If economy has to depend on the property bubble, let it burst. Mostly because of tourists (with high £wages) buying properties on the coast, we young Spaniards must be paying loan interests for over 30 years after buying a house. Housing is the greatest problem in Spain, far greater than the terrorists. Crisis will come, eventually, possibly ending up with the proclamation of the Third Republic. And this could solve the problem for once and for all.

Jorge, Murcia,

Buckle your economic seatbelts. A decade of drunken public and private borrowing and spending precipitated a global recession which is likely to last a decade or more.

Spain made its economic troubles by promoting fast track divorce which destroys family assets, reduces savings and investments, and increases social welfare and mental health costs.

MARK KLEIN, M.D., OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

Who does not consider ETA a terrorist organization? the UK or this newspaper? It is sad to see them called separatist group and not terrorist after having killed almost 1,000 people.

Al, Dublin,

... And so many of us Spaniards hope the People's Party will finally shut up and admit they were defeated four years ago because people didn't want them in the Government after they got us into Iraq's war against our will. During the last four years Zapatero has made Spain a more modern and better country, and so he'll be doing the next four years.

Eco, Madrid,