Source:
ReutersReuters) - Spain's governing Socialists won approval for a 15 billion euro ($18.4 billion) austerity package by a single vote on Thursday, but the narrowness of the victory raised doubts over the government's ability to steer the country through an economic crisis.
The razor-thin majority piled pressure on Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been forced to ditch his party's traditional alliances in pushing through spending cuts and labor reforms as markets fret Spain could suffer a similar crisis to Greece but on a larger scale.
The prime minister called off a scheduled trip to Brazil on Thursday, as an end-May deadline loomed for an agreement with unions and business on wide-ranging labor reforms -- a key policy demand by international markets.
Unions met Thursday and warned that they would call a general strike if the government goes ahead with changes to labor market rules without their consent, saying there were still big differences with business on the reform.
Read more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64Q54T20100527