Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero shows his identity card as he casts his ballot in Spain's general elections at a Madrid polling station March 9, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Zapatero won surprisingly in 2004 elections, which were held three days after terrorist bombings of Madrid commuter trains killed 191 people.

Zapatero's victory in 2004 was widely seen as voters' punishment of the then PP government's insistence that the bombings were carried out by the Basque separatist group ETA despite growing evidence that they were authored by Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaida.

Sunday's victory for Zapatero seems to be vindication of his policies in the past four years.

He legalized gay marriage and passed legislation to make divorce easier, moves that angered the PP. The Socialist government also devolved power to semi-autonomous regions.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2008)