By Tito Drago
MADRID, Mar 8 2000 (IPS)

The political debate leading up to Spain’s general elections this Sunday has focused on the social question as candidates attempt to capture the decisive vote of retirees and pensioners.

Joaquín Almunia, the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) candidate for prime minister, announced that his plan for the first 100 days in office includes an increase in the minimum pension payment, which would be retroactive to January 1.

He also promised that, for the first time, people who receive these pension payments will be paid an extra check in July.

José María Aznar, Spain’s current prime minister and candidate for the centre-right People’s Party (PP), made promises last Sunday that were also agreeable to retirees and pensioners, though the majority of this group traditionally votes for the socialists.

Aznar affirmed that if he wins he will implement an increase of up to 10 percent for all pensions.

On Sunday, March 12, the Spanish electorate will vote for a totally new parliament. Its Congress of Deputies will be entrusted with designating the president of the Council of Ministers, also known as the “chief of government,” the equivalent to prime minister in most other European countries, or the chancillor in Germany.

All major public opinion surveys indicate that a majority of people polled intend to vote for the PP, giving the party a 4.6 to 7.0 point advantage over the PSOE.

But these numbers would not give the PP the absolute majority of 176 representatives in the Congress necessary to designate the new head of government.

If the PP does not win a majority of the congressional seats, it will have to create a pact with other centre and centre-right political forces, such as the nationalists and regionalists of Catalonia, the Basque Country and the Canary Islands.

But if the governing party is not able to form alliances sufficient for obtaining a majority, and the PSOE and the United Left (IU) coalition receive a healthy portion of the vote, these two opposition groups could form ties to put their own candidate in the prime minister post.

The battle to win the vote of those still undecided is heating up. Candidates are pursuing retirees, pensioners and the unemployed – the sectors of the population that are most interested in improving their social situation.

Meanwhile, debates on foreign policy or national defence issues are practically non-existent in this campaign.

Almunia called on the Spanish electorate to support his programme for the first 100 days of the new term and to make sure he complies with his responsibilities.

The PP response was to point out that when the PSOE left the government in 1996, the social security system was going bankrupt from running a major deficit, but after four years under the Aznar government, the system is running at a surplus.

The governing party also emphasised that in 1985, when the PSOE’s Almunia was the Labour minister under the Felipe González government, he made cuts in the pensions of widows and retirees, which ultimately led the socialist-leaning General Workers Union (UGT) to break ties with the PSOE-led government.

Almunia’s 100-day plan for the new government includes creating an extra tax for privatised companies, stopping the abuses committed by companies that offer temporary employment, and pushing for changes in the income tax law in order to benefit low- income workers.

The opposition candidate also promised to set up a government commission to combat violence against women, move up the date set for eliminating compulsory military service, reduce electricity rates by 4.5 percent, cancel the upcoming rate hikes for telephone services, and close down two nuclear power plants.

On the international scene, though not a central focus of his campaign, Almunia stated that his clearest priorities include pushing for immediate ratification of the proposed International Criminal Court and forgiving the debt that the world’s 10 poorest countries have with Spain.

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