Prime Minister Wins in Landslide

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar swept to victory in Spain’s general election, crushing the opposition Socialists to capture an absolute majority in parliament for the first time. In a vote Aznar had been predicted to win by only the narrowest of margins, his center-right Popular Party claimed 183 seats in the 350-seat legislature. With 99% of the votes counted, the Popular Party had 44.7% to the Socialists’ 34%. Socialist candidate Joaquin Almunia, who had hoped to return his party to government after its narrow loss to Aznar in 1996, conceded defeat and announced his immediate resignation as party chief.