NECK AND NECK

It was just a year ago that Gordon Brown became Britain’s prime minister, Labour had a commanding lead over the Tories and he was being urged to call a general election so he’d have his own mandate. A year on his party is loosing safe seats in England and Scotland, Labour’s popularity is at an all time low and his own personal rating is zilch!

The same economic crisis that has hit Britain so hard is also being felt in Spain. However whilst the popularity of the ruling socialists has dipped the right of centre Partido Popular is hardly racing ahead.

Indeed just months after the general election Spain’s two main political parties are now running at neck and neck. In April PSOE commanded 43.6 per cent of the vote and the Partido Popular 37.6 but they are now both on the 39.5 mark with the socialists ahead by a whisker.

The drop in the governing party’s fortunes has been laid at the door of the economic crisis. However whilst the socialist’s popularity has dropped by four per cent the PP has only jumped by two per cent.

The poll was carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas between July 7 and 13.

On the results the vice president of the government, Fernández de la Vega said: “We are in a complicated economic situation, and as has happened in similar situations in the past, this contaminates the public’s perception.”

For its part the Partido Popular opposition through its secretary general in Congress, José Luis Ayllón declared: “It is evident that the confidence of Spaniards is in free fall and they consider that the government is inactive in the face of all these real problems.”

So has the far left Izquierda Unida benefited from the country’s economic woes? Hardly! Its support has only risen from 3.9 to 4.8 per cent over the same period. Mind you if you were a spin doctor you could claim a near 25 per cent increase. Or is it 33 per cent? No good asking me I’m just a hack and barely passed my London Secondary Schools Exam in Maths in 1965 –so what do I know?