The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, has called new elections for the twelfth of March.

Correspondents say the polls are likely to be seen as a referendum on Mr Aznar's free market policies and his hardline stance against the Basque separatist organisation, ETA, which ended its ceasefire late last year.

Mr Aznar's centre-right Popular Party has governed Spain with the support of regional nationalists after narrowly defeating the Socialist Party in the 1996 elections.

Opinion polls suggest it is likely to improve its performance, but still fall short of an outright majority.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service