西班牙总理：不再谋求连任

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said he will not seek a third term in office after parliamentary elections due next year.

西班牙总理萨巴德洛称，明年议会选举中，他将不会谋求第三次连任。

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Mr Zapatero said speculation about his future was distracting the government from its main tasks
Mr Zapatero, whose popularity is at an all-time low, said it was the right decision for the country, his centre-left Socialist² party and his family.

He became Prime Minister in 2004 in the wake of the Madrid train bombings.

Spain's economy was booming then. It has since suffered a deep recession, and unemployment is at 20%.

Ending speculation

Mr Zapatero said he would stand down（退出） as party leader when a successor had been chosen.

That process - through a series of 'primaries' - will begin after local elections on 22 May.

The Socialists³ are currently 15% behind the right of centre Popular Party in the polls and are expected to suffer heavy losses.

Mr Zapatero said he was making his position clear now, a year ahead of parliamentary elections, in order to end the uncertainty⁴ and speculation over his future.

That was distracting the government from its main tasks, he said: lifting Spain out of recession and creating jobs.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Madrid, says Mr Zapatero's party will be hoping his announcement gives them a boost at the local elections.

But it also leaves a good deal of uncertainty, our correspondent says - the kind of "distraction⁵" the PM said he was trying to avoid.