Spain: Here Come the Socialists

Their election seems certain after Suárez quits his party

Ever since Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo took office in early 1981, his Union of the Democratic Center Party has been buffeted from both ends of the political spectrum. The very Cortes vote to approve his appointment was interrupted as right-wing army officers staged an aborted coup d'état that raised ominous questions about Spain's fragile, four-year-old democracy. Then last spring, the Socialist Party of Felipe Gonzalez won regional elections in Andalusia, outpolling the U.C.D. by a stunning 52% to 13%. Last week the U.C.D. was...