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and so successfully after four decades of fascism is one of modern Europe's most
remarkable stories.
In 1982 the left-of-centre Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE; Spanish So-
cialist Worker Party) was elected to power, led by a charismatic young lawyer from
Seville, Felipe González. During its 14 years in power, the PSOE brought Spain into
mainstream Europe, joining the European Community (now the EU) in 1986. They
also oversaw the rise of the Spanish middle class, established a national health
system and improved public education, and Spain's women streamed into higher
education and jobs, although unemployment was the highest in Europe. But the
PSOE finally became mired in scandal and, in the 1996 elections, the centre-right
Partido Popular (PP; People's Party), led by José María Aznar, swept the PSOE
from power.
Upon coming to power, José María Aznar promised to make politics dull, and he
did, but he also presided over eight years of solid economic progress. Spain's eco-
nomy grew annually by an average of 3.4%, and unemployment fell from 23%
(1996) to 8% (2006). Not surprisingly, the PP won the 2000 election as well, with an
absolute parliamentary majority. Aznar's popularity began to wane thanks to his
strong support for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 (which was deeply unpopular
in Spain) and his decision to send Spanish troops to the conflict.
Zapatero's Spain
As the 2004 general election approached,
Aznar handed the PP reins to Mariano Rajoy
who came up against the PSOE's José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero, who had successfully
managed to distance himself from his party's
less than pristine past. The PP looked
headed for victory, but early on Thursday 11
March 2004, three days before the general
election, bombs exploded on four crowded
commuter trains in and near Madrid, killing
191 people and injuring 1800; eleven million
people poured onto Spain's streets in demon-
strations of peace and solidarity the following
day. As the evidence mounted that the bomb-
ing was the work of Islamic extremists, the
government continued to maintain that ETA
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