Perez Rubalcaba courts leftist voters
SPANISH politician Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba courted disillusioned leftist voters yesterday after the ruling Socialists elected him candidate for the premiership in an uphill battle to retain power.
In a televised speech, Rubalcaba said bank profits should finance job creation and proposed reviving a tax on the wealthy. However, he stressed he would maintain austerity measures to cut Spain's deficit. He will have a tough time distancing himself from unpopular premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who cut spending and public wages and clashed with the unions in a bid to save Spain from the eurozone debt crisis.