The man expected to become Spain's next prime minister says not to expect "miracles" when his government gets to work trying to bring Spain out of its severe economic crisis.
Mariano Rajoy spoke on November 20 after results showed his center-right Popular Party winning an absolute parliamentary majority in national elections, ending seven years of rule by the Socialists.
The Popular Party is expected to control 186 seats in the 350-seat lower house, the biggest majority held by any party in Spain in the past three decades.
The Socialists, meanwhile, won some 29 percent of the vote, giving the party 110 seats in parliament.
The incoming cabinet will have the task of implementing austerity measures in the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy.
In his victory remarks, Rajoy urged Spaniards to join him in the battle against the country's massive debt and economic stagnation that has led to an unemployment rate of more than 21 percent -- or some 5 million people -- the highest jobless rate of any European Union member state.
Rajoy warned that his government would be unable to produce "miracles" to overcome the economic crisis.
"We are facing a decisive time in Spain," he told supporters in Madrid. "We are at one of those crossroads that will determine our great country's future not only in the upcoming years, but also in the upcoming decades. It is during these decisive moments when one can measure the cold blood of people."
Spain's Socialists became the fifth eurozone government to be ousted over the economic crisis, following governments in Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and Italy.
compiled from agency reports