Socialist leaders say no to early elections

Top Socialist officials on Monday ruled out the possibility of calling early elections after reports emerged that the some party members have starting talking about bringing them forward to November.

"All I have to say is that the government intends on holding general elections when they are scheduled, in the spring of 2012," said party secretary general Marcelino Iglesias, following the weekly meeting of the Socialist Party's permanent committee. Iglesias assured reporters that even without the support in the fall from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Catalan nationalist (CiU) bloc for the 2012 budget, "the parliamentary session can still continue" through spring.

Socialist sources have told EL PAÍS that many inside the party are beginning to discuss whether calling early elections would be to their advantage, judging by the current popularity of their candidate, Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who has a higher approval rating in some polls than the Popular Party's Mariano Rajoy.

Apart from Castilla-La Mancha's outgoing regional premier José María Barreda, no other major Socialist leader has publicly called for early elections. "Maybe the move could be for the best," Barreda told a television station.

But other leaders, such as Patxi López, the head of the Basque government, and Labor Minister Valeriano Gómez, say that they want the current government to conclude its term so as to not upset Spain's shaky financial image abroad. Following the Socialists' defeat in regional and local races on May 22, The Financial Times warned in an editorial against calling early elections.