Right Wing Celebrates Spanish Win

Spain's ruling People's party was celebrating a dramatic setback for its Socialist opponents yesterday, after winning back the regional government of Madrid.

The loss, six months before a general election, was widely blamed on an internal Socialist party row which saw two regional deputies expelled from the party within days of being elected in May.

The Socialists, who had originally won enough seats to govern, were then unable to form a government and fresh elections were called.

But these followed an inconclusive investigation by a regional parliamentary committee into claims that the two deputies were backed by construction firms that are making large sums from Madrid's building boom.