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The capital of Spain is Madrid, its area measures 504,782 square km, the population is made up of 40,409,330 inhabitants, the gross domestic product is 741.2 billion Euros. The inflation is 3%, the unemployment rate is equivalent to 10.7%, the deficit is –1.1% and the national debt is 48.2%. After the 40 years periodo of Franco’s dictatorial regime (1936-1975), and the period that organized the democratic transition, Spain is, since 1978, a democratic monarchy. The constitution in 1978 defined Spain as a democratic and social State characterized by freedom, justice, equality and politic pluralism. Spain is characterized by a wide autonomy, due to the large powers devolved to the 17 self-governing communities, together with the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Spain has a form of monarchic-parliamentar government. The combination the the monarchic institution with an efficient parliamentary system, created a political model characterized by the strenghtening of the figure of the Prime Minister and a Sovereign devoid of any politic resposibility. The Prime Minister decides about the designation and the revocation of the Members of Government, fully responsible towards him. The present Prime Minister is Josè Rodriguez Zapatero, leader of the Spanish Socialist Working Party. The Head of the State, King Juan Carlos of Borbone, as representetive of the national unity, has a formal and arbitral function, yet he does not take part to the Country political life. The Spanish Parliament consists of two chambers : the Congress of Deputies, made up of 350 members, elected in districts by a proportional system with a blocking clause fixed at 3%. That is: the parties that don’t achieve at least the 3% of votes cannot be represented within the Congress. The Chamber owns a much more important role than the Senate’s one, as just the Congress gives the Government confidence. The Senate is elected by a majority system, in districts, and a part of its members,50, is elected by the Assimblies of the self-governing Communities; the Senators are 259 at whole. The Spanish party system mainly features two great parties: the Spanish Socialist Working Party and the Popular Party, that succeeded each other since the Spain was back to democracy. Besides in Spain we have a Communist Party, which lose more and more importance, a number of local and nationalist parties, with a strong local striking root and widely represented within the self-governing communities and sometimes at a national level too. The Catalan party “Convergenza y Union” is exemplary for this situation, as it has been ruling Catalunya self-governing community for a long time and it was often crucial in the Government coalitions forming, at a national level. The last Spanish legislative elections took place on the 14th March 2004 and they marked the end of 8 years of Popular Party government adn the victory of the Spanish Socialist Working Party, that gained the relative majority of seats within the Congress, 168. Spain joined the European Union the 1st January 1986, when the law that allowed the ratification of the adhesion Treaty, signed in Madrid in 1985, came into force. Spain owns 54 out of the 732 seats that make up the European Parliament. The last European elections took place on the 13th June 2004; on that occasion the percentage of voters was quite low, 45.9%, and it was the worst result in Spain as far as partecipation. These elections partly confirmed the result of the political ones, awarding the victory to the Spanish Socialist Working Party, even if it didn’t succeed in achieving the same success. The 25 elected deputies joined the Socialist group, whereas the deputies elected within the Spanish PP joined the European Popular Party. Within Barroso’s commission the Spanish member is Joaquin Almunia, Commissary for the economic and monetary affairs.
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