Zapatero backs Rubalcaba as his successor

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Friday told regional party leaders that he endorses his deputy, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, as the best Socialist candidate to run in next year's general elections.

Calling him "my candidate" and "the best possible candidate," Zapatero sought a consensus among top party officials a day ahead of Saturday's meeting of the Socialist Federal Committee. Party sources confirmed that most regional leaders agree with this choice, and would in all likelihood ratify it on Saturday.

Zapatero's endorsement of Rubalcaba, a longtime party heavyweight, comes as no surprise. Most observers inside and outside Socialist circles consider him the strongest candidate to lead the embattled Socialist Party out of a rut caused by its mishandling of the economic crisis. Last Sunday the party sustained a historical defeat in local and regional elections that handed a good deal of power back to the opposition Popular Party.

Defense Minister Carme Chacón, the only likely challenger to Rubalcaba, on Thursday announced she was retiring from the race to find Zapatero's successor. Her move cleared the way for the party to rally around Rubalcaba. Sources said support for Chacón, who is younger and less experienced than Rubalcaba, was more theoretical than real.