Expert thinks Spanish election results show negative effects of war in Iraq

The replacement of the government in Spain, following the parliamentary elections on Sunday, has for the first time shown the negative consequences of involvement in the war against Iraq. Konstantin Kosachyov, the chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, gave this opinion to reporters today.

"For the first time we have a situation when participation in the Iraqi campaign has had the most serious domestic political consequences for a country that is one of the leading members of the anti-Iraqi alliance," he remarked. The deputy pointed out that terror had become a substantial factor in domestic policies of different countries, which can be more important that social and economic problems, and this factor is having an effect on the balance of political forces. In this connection, the idea that "a similar domestic political process would somehow influence the course of the election campaign in the USA, and it could lead to quite unexpected results" does not look groundless, Kosachyov believes.