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- Liva & Laia : 15th November
Spain's Prime Minister Juan Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has named Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba as his succesor as leader of the PSOE Socialist party.
Rubalcaba, who is already the deputy prime minister and minster for the interior, will lead the party beyond next year's coming general elections, in opposition to the PP's Mariano Rajoy.
Mr Rubalcaba must now face a primary election within the party, where the winner will be announced on July 2. In theory there still could be a rival put forward by party members, however, this is most unlikely given withdrawal from the race by Carme Chacón, the defence minister, who said she would step back in order to preserve unity within the party.
Whether this was due to pressure from senior party members remains to be seen. Others have called this a wise move on her part - if the party fails to become re-elected, Rubalcaba may come under pressure to resign, which would leave the road clear for Chacon to put herself forward as a candidate to 'rebuild the party'.
Rubalcaba told party leaders that the only way to win the election would be by promising change, including a reform of the welfare state and creating jobs, but he provided no details and is expected to ake more about his proposals over the coming days.