OPTIONS which had been closed for the whole Spanish general election campaign suddenly opened yesterday, as the first delicate negotiations began to form a government.
Mr Jose Maria Aznar, leader of the right wing Partido Popular which unexpectedly fell 20 seats short of an absolute majority, opened manoeuvres with a press conference at which he "offered his hand to everyone". He did not rule out either a coalition or a pact to support a minority government. But he insisted "no formula will work in which the PP does not lead the government".
He underlined the dangers posed by falling confidence in the financial markets, which had been buoyant on the basis of a comfortable PP win, and dropped sharply yesterday morning.
"Investors need to see that we are acting responsibly. We want this legislature to be stable, and to last," he said, rejecting out of hand suggestions that new elections might have to be called to clarify the situation. He was reluctant to say what parties he had spoken to so far.
During the day, the Catalan president, Mr Jordi Pujol, whose support Mr Aznar will almost certainly need if he is to govern, announced that he would not vote for him in the first round when parliament meets next April. But this can be taken as an opening gambit.
Meanwhile the Socialist leader, Mr Felipe Gonzalez, now caretaker President after 13 years in power, was positively magnanimous, having seen his vote hold up much better than predicted.
"I see no reason to see the future of the country with unease, as long as this government does not make mistakes. I don't want to create any uncertainties at this stage, and I do not intend to raise tensions as leader of the opposition. It is still possible for a new government to meet the convergence criteria for monetary union."
He did indicate, however, that if the opportunity should arise, he would be willing to form a government. For the moment, however, he is content to see the PP, as the party with the most seats, do the negotiating.
Only hours after polls closed in the general election, the Basque separatist group ETA made itself heard with a car bomb which killed a policeman.
Mr Montxo Doral (37), a member of the police force of the Basque autonomous government, died in hospital after a bomb planted under his car blew up as he was getting in early yesterday morning in Irun, San Sebastian. He was married with three children.