José María Aznar.

TW
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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar won parliamentary backing for a second term yesterday following his centre-right party's surprise outright majority win in last month's general election. At yesterday's parliamentary meeting there were the four Partido Popular MPs for the Balearics lead by Rosa Estaras and the two socialist MPs. The Partido Popular won a landslide victory in the Balearics polling more votes that the other parties combined. Aznar, one of only a handful of conservative premiers in Europe, was supported by his Popular Party, which has 183 seats, and by two regional parties giving him 202 votes in the 350-member lower house versus 148 opposition votes against him. He was due to be sworn in by King Juan Carlos on Thursday when he would also name his new ministerial team. Aznar's March triumph was helped by Spain's buoyant economy and in his inaugural speech to the new parliament on Tuesday the 47-year-old former tax inspector outlined plans for more economic reforms.