MALLORCA TODAY - Spanish elections brought forward to November

President Zapatero, seeking to reduce political and economic uncertainty, has announced that the Spanish national elections will be held on 20 November this year, five months before they would have been due to have been held. Sr. Zapatero will not be standing as president at the elections, his former deputy and interior minister in the PSOE socialist party, Alfredo Rubalcaba, having been nominated as presidential candidate to stand against Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular. The PP holds a lead in the polls at present, but the gap between the PP and PSOE has narrowed since it became clear that Rubalcaba would be the candidate.