MADRID, March 14: Traumatised Spaniards voted in droves on Sunday in a general election thrown wide open by a new claim that Al Qaeda rather than Basque separatists was behind the Madrid train bombs that killed 200 people last week.
If Osama's men did mount their first direct strike in the West since Sept 11, 2001, and if, as claimed, it was an act of reprisal for Spain's support of the United States in Iraq, it could cost the ruling conservatives dear in an election they were widely expected to win before Thursday's bloodshed.
Shock at the carnage, and mounting party political rancour, were evident across Spain. Sombre voters, many wearing the black ribbon that has become a symbol of national grief, turned out in numbers well in excess of the last parliamentary poll in 2000.
Other Spaniards were more vitriolic in their accusations against Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar over Iraq and for "manipulating" public opinion by spending three days blaming the bombs on the Basque militants ETA, despite the group's denials.
"Liar!" and "Get our troops out of Iraq!" protesters shouted at Mariano Rajoy, the man who will take over from Aznar if their Popular Party (PP) does succeed in winning a third term. In the first five hours of voting, turnout hit nearly 40 per cent, almost 10 per cent up on the same point four years ago. -Reuters
