La Coruna - The veteran conservative leader, Mr Manuel Fraga, has won his fourth successive absolute majority in the north-eastern Spanish region of Galicia, the final count for Sunday's elections have confirmed, Paddy Woodworth reports.
The centre-right Partido Popular (PP), which also governs in Madrid, won 41 out of 75 seats in the autonomous parliament, only one less than in the previous elections, and 51 per cent of the vote. The opposition Socialist Party (PSOE), under the hitherto untested leadership of Mr JosΘ Luis Rodr∅guez Zapatero, improved its position with two extra seats, tying with the left-wing nationalist Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) at 17 deputies each.
The BNG, which slipped one seat, has clearly lost its momentum as the main challenge to Mr Fraga, who at 79 remains a power-broker in Spanish politics.