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CNN joins BBC in Demonstrating it canât Seperate Fact from Spin
Ruling parties in some countries that supported the war, including Britain and Italy, saw their support fall, and the Socialists in Spain, who won Marchâs general election on an anti-war platform, attracted the most votes there. In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blairâs Labor Party slumped to a humiliating third place in local elections last week, prompting fresh speculation in the media about his political future. However, the rise of the UK Independence Party appeared to be dividing the anti-Blair vote by drawing votes away from the Conservatives, who have been suffered internal divisions in recent years over their position on Britainâs role in the EU. Projections from the EU had the Conservatives winning 23 seats, to 19 for Labor and 15 for the UKIP.Iraq was also an issue in Italy, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconiâs party lost about 4 percentage points, but his center-right ruling coalition appeared to hold its own, projections showed early Monday. Turnout was a robust 73.1 percent in Italy, where Berlusconi has faced strong opposition for his decision. In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Kuis Rodriguez Zapateroâs Socialists led by won [sic] 43.3 percent, edging the conservatives who took 41.3 percent -- an apparent vindication of the Socialistsâ opposition to the Iraq war, which was supported by the previous prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar. But both French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Schroeder -- steadfast opponents of the war -- also suffered at the polls. Schroederâs Social Democrats slumped to its worst nationwide performance in post-World War II Germany -- taking just 21.5 percent, compared to 30.7 percent in the last European election five years ago, according to official results. The opposition Christian Democrats won 44.5 percent. In France, Chiracâs Union for the Popular Movement was projected to win about 16.5 percent of the vote, a far second behind the Socialist Party, with a projected 30 percent, according to Sofres polling firm. Note while that Iraq war support was the cause of the falls in votes for Blair and Berlesconi, France and German opposition to the war was not a factor in the even worse performance of their parties (relative to the UK and Italy). They can write this stuff because their spin always over-rides any rational analysis. Posted by: phil_b 2004-06-14 |
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