The Spanish Elections Analyzed

After a preliminary period of confusion, it is now possible to gain a clearer view of the political scene in Spain. Two facts emerge: that the Catholic question was not the dominant issue and that it did not decisively swing votes either the one way or the other; that the Catholic deputies who lost their seats (Traditionalists, Alfonsists and others) did so not as a consequence of their Catholicism but because of specific political issues. Acción Popular, which we may legitimately describe as the Catholic party in Spain, actually increased its representation and is easily the largest party in the new Cortes. The Left gains have been made principally at the expense of the Centre Radicals, who staged a spectacular collapse, despite the promotion of a Centre ' 'hold-the-ring' ' party by President Alcalá Zamora and Premier Portela. Centre deputies who lost their seats paid the penalty of "betraying the Republic." Don Alejandro Lerroux, one of the oldest Republican leaders, failed in two constituencies, and but a bare dozen of his followers have been returned. Señor Cambó, leader of the Catalan Lliga (Right) for many years, was also defeated

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