Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

We reproduce, for your pleasure, The Economist cover from 20 March 2004. Following the mass murder of Madrid commuters by Islamist fanatics, Spain's voters dismissed their uncompromising Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and hired the pliant Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who quickly pulled the country's troops out of Iraq.

The defeat of Aznar prompted The Economist to title its 20 March issue "One down, three to go?" The three were British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W. Bush. They'd be sorry about that Iraq adventure. They'd be voted out of office.

Well, not quite. Tony Blair's historic victory yesterday will be spun as a major defeat in Toynbee East and Galloway West and by those who build their houses using crooked timber, but they are as bitter now as they were on Wednesday. Oh, they'll blame the electoral system and they'll say that this is really a defeat, but that's just sullenness. A win is a win.

And as regards the projected 66 seats majority. Well, consider these majorities: Labour 5, 1950; Conservatives 54, 1955; Labour 5, 1964; Labour 4, 1974; Conservatives 43, 1979; Conservatives 21, 1992. So, 66 will do nicely. A rather nice birthday present, actually. On the other hand, Andrew Sullivan is reading the result as a doomsday scenario for the PM. Ever since he sided with Kerry, Andrew's been on a downer. The re-election of Bush traumatized him and the election of Benedict XVI shattered him. When will this series end?