We will remove Spain from an illegal and unjust war
Amid the heady joy in parliament on Friday, after MPs had overwhelmingly approved his candidacy as prime minister (only the defeated Popular Party voted against) an action of one man in the visitors' gallery was revealing: as applause rippled round the chamber, Juan Rodriguez, Zapatero's snowy-haired father, could not resist raising his fist in the old socialist salute, a sight not seen in parliament for many years.
Zapatero, 43, has always said he was inspired by his Republican grandfather, who was shot by Franco's forces early in the civil war.
The new leader swore loyalty to King Juan Carlos yesterday, and his ministers will do the same today, five weeks after the Socialists' surprise election victory transformed Spain's political scene and recasted political alliances across Europe.
MPs voted 183 to 148 to endorse Zapatero, who has shaken the world with his commitment to withdraw troops from Iraq unless the UN takes charge before June 30. He said in the two-day debate that preceded the vote that both the war and the occupation were illegal as they lacked a UN mandate.
"If the United Nations does not take over political control and the military command of that country, Spanish troops will come back to us. I have set a deadline of June 30," he said.
Elizabeth Nash/Sunday Herald Mar.25.04
