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Aznar sworn in as prime minister for second term |
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April 28, 2000 MADRID, APR 27 (AP) - Jose Maria Aznar was sworn in before King Juan Carlos on Thursday for a second term as Spanish prime minister.
Aznar, whose center-right Popular Party won 183 seats in the 350-seat Parliament in recent elections, was to return to the Zarzuela royal palace later in the day to present the monarch with his new Cabinet list.
On Wednesday, Aznar's candidacy for premier was backed by 202 of the Congress' 350 deputies, the Socialist party constituting the main opposition block with 125 votes.
Aznar's return to office has been interpreted as a nod of approval from voters for his economic reforms over the past four years and a steady economic growth rate that reached 3.7 percent in 1999.
The 47-year-old politician has pledged to further liberalize the economy.
In his first four-year term, unemployment shrank from 23 percent to 15 percent. Aznar has said the government hopes to reach full employment this decade.
With an eight-seat majority, Aznar will no longer have to rely on the support of the Basque, Catalan or Canary Island regional parties he so badly needed in his first term.
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