Campaign ramps up in economically embattled Spain

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Economic crisis looms over Spanish voteThe start of the formal campaign leads up to the November 20 electionPolls suggest Popular party candidate Mariano Rajoy will become prime ministerSpain is currently in the throes of a significant economic crisis

Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- Spain's parliamentary campaign formally begins Friday, after which voters appear poised to make opposition conservative candidate Mariano Rajoy the next prime minister of the economically embattled nation.

While there has been political action in recent months, the official, ramped-up campaign begins overnight. It will be followed by regular rallies, posters popping up all around Spain and even more intense campaigning, all leading up to the November 20 election.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, from the Socialist party, has been damaged politically by a continuing crisis that has left Spain with a 21.5% unemployment rate and nearly five million people without jobs.

Zapatero once had vowed to serve out the full length of his term through March 2012. But he ended up calling for early elections and announcing that he would not seek a third term.

Numerous opinion polls indicate the 56-year-old Rajoy and his Popular party hold a double-digit lead -- from 10 to 15 percentage points -- over the Socialists. He has proposed government cutbacks and lowering business taxes to spur job growth.

"Ours is a project for all Spaniards who know that it is time for a government that is able to rise to the occasion," Rajoy said in presenting his party's campaign platform earlier this week.

A Cabinet minister between 1996 and 2004 under Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Rajoy lost twice to Zapatero, in 2004 and 2008.

But his conservative party swept to victory in regional and local elections last May, presaging what polls predict will be a triumph the third time around.

Rajoy said recently that, if elected, he would push through a 100-day shock plan of "austerity and efficiency" so that national, regional and local governments coordinate to avoid duplication of spending.

The stakes are high since financial markets have battered Spain, forcing the government to pay higher interest, or yields, on bonds that it sells to raise cash to run the daily business of government. Many international analysts say Spain could be at even further risk, along with Italy and Portugal, if troubled Greece defaults on its debt.

It is difficult, and abnormal, climate for voters. Many of them became accustomed to Spain's previously rapid annual GDP growth, highway and infrastructure improvements, and ample social services, like its national health care system. The construction and real estate sector fueled those boom years, when the government once proudly stated that Spain had the world's eighth largest economy.

But things turned sour when the global economy took a nose-dive, with cheap credit suddenly elusive and the only growth seemingly seen at unemployment lines.

Rajoy's chief challenger is Socialist candidate Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba. The 60-year-old served under Socialist Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and most recently under Zapatero, rising to the positions of deputy prime minister and interior minister.

"We can't just do a policy of budget cuts," Rubalcaba said this week when presenting his party's platform. "We need public sector investment to create jobs in the framework of the European Union."

Both candidates are viewed as not particularly charismatic but competent managers with experience in various governments, according to Fernando Fernandez, a professor at the IE Business School in Madrid.

One key for voters, Fernandez said, is that Rajoy is associated with a period of economic growth from his service under Aznar. Rubalcaba, meanwhile, is linked more to the Socialist government that has presided over the current economic crisis.

The two main candidates are due to hold a single, face-to-face nationally televised debate on November 7.

Numerous smaller parties -- including nationalist parties from the northern Basque region and the northeastern region of Catalonia -- are expected to win seats in the 350-seat Spanish parliament.

Many political analysts wonder if Rajoy's party might achieve a majority in the election. If so, that would mean it will not have to make deals with smaller parties to stay in power.

The Basque terrorist group ETA, which has figured prominently in past campaigns due to its role in fatal bombings or assassinations as part of its drive for Basque independence, announced last month the "definitive cessation of its armed activity."

Yet the move by the group, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union as well as Spain, has barely resonated with voters. Polls show they are much more worried about the economy, and how it affects their households.

That angst has been evident over the five months of economic-driven protests across Spain known as the May 15 movement. This have helped keep the crisis at the forefront on the political agency, but many analysts wonder what clout the mostly-young demonstrators will have at the ballot box.

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Spain minister warns ETA's end to violence is not end of story

What's behind ETA announcement? Spain's interior minister says there is still work to do to prevent future terrorismETA has announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity"Listed as a terror group by the U.S. and European Union, it is blamed for hundreds of deathsIt has been fighting for an independent Basque state in parts of Spain and France

Madrid (CNN) -- Spanish Interior Minister Antonio Camacho warned Friday that although the Basque separatist group ETA has declared an end to violence, the most difficult task still lies ahead -- ensuring no Spaniards suffer the threat of terror attacks in the future.

His remarks come a day after ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity" in a statement published on the website of Gara, a newspaper the group has used to convey messages in the past.

ETA is blamed for hundreds of deaths in its decades-long fight for an independent Basque state that it wants carved out of sections of northern Spain and southwestern France.

Speaking Friday on Spanish National Television, Camacho said: "We have completed a first part of our task, (but) there remains the more complex one, guaranteeing through the strict enforcement of our laws that never again will any generation of Spaniards have to suffer on their backs the weight of a barbarity that slows down our progress and compromises our future."

He said ETA had been defeated "by the tireless and unstoppable work of the police and the civil guard" and that as a result it had been forced to declare an end to violence without achieving a single one of its aims.

The security services had achieved that outcome "with tenacity, with work, with dedication, and above all, with a lot of suffering," he said.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Friday that ETA's announcement "holds out the prospect of a historic step toward peace, although there is a long road ahead to realize this promise."

He paid tribute to the victims of ETA violence, adding: "We recognize the courage of the Spanish government and the Spanish people in their enduring efforts to advance democracy and freedom in Spain and around the world."

"The Spanish people have endured over 40 years of violence at the hands of ETA," said the spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The secretary-general shares in the hope that ETA is committed to bringing this tragic chapter for Spain to an end."

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the development as "a truly historic moment which ends years of terror and attacks on Spanish society."

The news "marks the culmination of years of unceasing efforts in the fight against terrorism," he said, congratulating Spain on its efforts to combat ETA.

Police have cracked down in recent years on ETA in Spain and France, leaving it operationally weak.

There have been numerous statements from the Basque group calling for talks or a peace process of some sort, but all falling short of declaring a definitive end to violence.

The Spanish government said that since ETA has broken cease-fires in the past; only an authoritative statement that it is putting down its arms for good will do.

Thursday's announcement followed a recent push for the group to abandon violence permanently. That effort was led by international figures who include Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams of Northern Ireland and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In a nationally televised address hours after the announcement was posted, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero termed ETA's announcement as being of "transcendental importance" and a "victory for democracy."

"Ours will be a democracy without terrorism, but not without memory," Zapatero said, referring to 829 people killed by ETA and their families.

The prime minister praised Spanish police, Civil Guard personnel, the intelligence agency and judicial authorities "who have contributed to this end." Zapatero also singled out France -- which has traditionally been used as a rearguard base for ETA -- and its president, Nicolas Sarkozy, for their assistance.

The prime minister said that it would be up to Spain's next government -- which will be formed after parliamentary elections on November 20 -- to lead the peace process.

In remarks Thursday night at their respective political party headquarters in Madrid, the two main contenders to replace Zapatero -- Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the candidate from Zapatero's Socialist Party, and Mariano Rajoy, leader of the opposition People's Party -- cheered the development but did not detail what they would do next if they were to become prime minister.

In its statement Thursday, ETA -- which is listed as a terrorist organization by Spain, the United States and the European Union -- outlined why now was the right time to make such a declaration.

"A new political time is emerging in the Basque Country," ETA said. "We have a historic opportunity to find a just and democratic solution for the centuries-old political conflict."

The group then added that "dialogue and agreement" should predominate "over violence and repression."

ETA urged the Spanish and French governments to conduct "direct dialogue" aimed at addressing outstanding issues while calling upon fellow Basques to commit to such a process.

CNN's Al Goodman and Mariano Castillo contributed to this report.

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Messi double as Barcelona set the pace in Spain

Lionel Messi celebrates yet another goal in the 3-0 win over Racing Santander.Barcelona stay top of Spain's La Liga with easy 3-0 home win over Racing Santander Lionel Messi scores twice to take his season's tally to 16Gonzalo Higuian scores a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Real Betis 4-1Inter Milan slip to defeat in Serie A and have four points from six games

(CNN) -- Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Racing Santander 3-0 in the Nou Camp Saturday night to stay top of Spain's La Liga.

Messi, hoping for a third consecutive home hat-trick, opened the scoring for Barca in the 11th minute and rounded it off in the 68th. He might have added a further goal but had a strong penalty appeal turned down in the second half.

The Argentine ace now has 16 in another free-scoring season.

Midfielder Xavi scored the second midway through the opening half as the reigning Spanish and European champions cruised to victory against the struggling visitors.

The only blot on their victory was an early injury to central defender Gerard Pique, who has been troubled by a foot problem and limped off after just three minutes to be replaced by Eric Abidal.

They stayed a point clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid, who earlier Saturday beat Real Betis 4-1 with Messi's international teammate Gonzalo Higuain grabbing his second hat-trick in a week.

Higuain, who also scored three for Argentina in a World Cup qualifying victory against Chile, made the breakthrough after the break, set up by Cristiano Ronaldo, playing his 100th match for Real.

Brazilian star Kaka, returning to his best, grabbed the second before Jorge Molina pulled a goal back for Betis.

Higuian quickly made it 3-1 and then completed his hat-trick, both on passes from Angel Di Maria to snuff out any hope of a recovery by the visitors.

Valencia missed out on joining Real Madrid on 16 points after being held 1-1 in Mallorca, while Villarreal warmed up for their crucial Champions League game against Manchester City Tuesday with a 0-0 draw at Getafe.

In Italy, Inter Milan's appalling start to the season continued as they were beaten 2-1 at Catania, leaving them with just four points from six Serie A games this season.

Inter took an early lead through Esteban Cambiasso but Catania hit back with two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half.

Sergio Almiron equalized and Francesco Lodi hit the winner from the penalty spot.

Inter's poor results meant the end of Gian Piero Gasperini short reign, but new coach Claudio Ranieri is also finding positive results difficult to come by.

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