Anyone want to run this country?

摘要

The game was up. Last week Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, announced that the country would hold a general election on November 20th, four months earlier than planned. In doing so, he was bringing forward a new era in Spanish politics. The unpopular Mr Zapatero, who has responded only belatedly to Spain's economic difficulties, announced several months ago that he would not seek another term in office. But he knows that his successor as Socialist candidate for prime minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, stands virtually no chance of winning the vote. Polls suggest that Mariano Rajoy, leader of the opposition conservative People's Party (pp), looks certain to triumph.