TIMES ONLINE: New figures showing rising unemployment, sinking house prices and a stalling economy have rocked the Spanish Government in the final days of a bitterly fought general election.
Hours after being proclaimed the victor of the second televised debate José Luis RodrÍguez Zapatero, the Socialist Prime Minister, struggled to explain why more than 50,000 Spaniards lost their jobs last month.
Unemployment now tops 2.3 million, or 8.6 per cent, as struggling construction firms make workers redundant and the property bubble deflates.
The two main political parties this week began a final assault to capture undecided voters before Sunday’s poll. The Prime Minister and Mariano Rajoy, his conservative opponent, have clashed in two ill-tempered television debates over the slowing economy, rising immigration and the fight against terrorism.
The opposition leader repeatedly called the Prime Minister a liar and accused him of insulting the victims of Eta by holding peace talks with the Basque separatist group last year.
Polls showed that the Prime Minister was thought to have won both debates but neither candidate was able to land a knockout blow. Analysts said that the duels, which attracted record television audiences, had galvanised voters but failed to give either candidate a commanding lead. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's poll lead falters as good times fade in Spain >>> By Thomas Catan in Madrid
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