Credit:UN/DPI Photo

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many Spaniards remain content with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, according to a poll by Instituto Opina released by Cadena Ser. 55.4 per cent of respondents approve of the president's performance.

Zapatero—of the Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE)—was sworn in as president of the government in April 2004, following his party's victory in the legislative ballot. The conservative Popular Party (PP) had administered the government under José María Aznar since 1996.

In May, Zapatero vowed to "bring an end to terrorist violence." The PSOE presented a proposal that aimed to garner the support of all political parties in bilateral negotiations with Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA), provided the armed group "disbands and puts down its arms." The legislative branch approved the PSOE's dialogue proposal after a 192-147 vote. All PP members rejected the measure.

ETA has killed more than 840 people since 1959, in the fight to form an independent state encompassing the Spanish regions of Navarra and the Basque Country, as well as areas in southwestern France. A ceasefire was accorded in 1998, but the organization resurfaced again in January 2000.

Yesterday, Spain's interior minister José Antonio Alonso met with French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Evian. Alonso said the two officials agreed to "maintain the same level of collaboration that we've had so far, and make it even better if possible" in order to fight terrorism.

Polling Data

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