Jubilant Spanish Socialists see hangover ahead
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Socialists celebrated their re-election on Sunday with sparkling wine and songs in the streets, well aware that their hangover may last not hours but years.
Spain’s economy is slowing, property prices are faltering and hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs as a decade-long construction boom runs out of steam — many of them immigrants who have helped fuel Spain’s stellar growth.
“It is going to be very difficult,” said Jorge Moreu Arcos, a 43-year-old draughtsman.
“There’s been a lot of corruption in town halls, and house prices couldn’t keep doubling every six years. The problem with the economy is a global one now.”
Across town, disillusioned conservative voter Pilar Hernandez said the economy was unlikely to improve under either party as global oil and food costs push Spanish inflation over 4 percent — while real wages have not risen in 10 years.
“It’s amazing how much prices are going up while salaries aren’t at all,” said the 54-year-old, who works in a school cafeteria. “We’re short of decent politicians.”
In its campaign, the centre-right Popular Party played on economic fears by attacking Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero for legalising almost 700,000 illegal immigrants who, it intimated, were taking Spaniards’ jobs.
Since 2000, Spain has taken in more immigrants than any country apart from the United States — officially 3 million, but possibly many more.
There were plenty of foreigners dancing in the streets around the Socialist headquarters on Sunday night, but even they reckoned Zapatero would have to cut back on the number of immigrants who come to Spain.
“In future, immigrants will have to come into the country on a legal basis … and I think that there will be a limit to how many can come,” said Argentine Maria del Valle, 41, who has lived in Spain for 18 years.
(Additional reporting by Ben Harding; Writing by Jane Barrett; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Tags: spanish, property, prices
