Spain:José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, was under intense pressure yesterday to crack down heavily on Eta following a car-bomb attack that ended a nine-month ceasefire and wrecked his government's controversial efforts to broker peace with the Basque separatist group.
Mariano Rajoy, the head of the opposition Popular Party, called on Mr Zapatero to act with "prudence and a sense of realism".
"The response to the attack cannot be simply to suspend a process that never should have begun in the first place," he said.
The Association of Victims of Terrorism said the prime minister should "apologise to the Spanish people" for allegedly allowing Eta the opportunity to regroup.
The calls were made as Spanish police scoured the rubble left by Saturday's bomb attack on Madrid's Barajas airport. Two Ecuadorian men were missing, believed dead, after an estimated 500kg of dynamite destroyed a multistorey car park.
The deaths, if confirmed, would mark the first fatalities caused by Eta in 3¾#189; years.
Mr Zapatero's critics seized on the government's complete surprise at the bombing as evidence of his naivety in dealing with Eta. Less than 24 hours before the bombing, he had voiced optimism about the peace process he launched in June.
The government held secret talks in December with Eta leaders and came away confident that the ceasefire would hold.
Analysts predicted that the government, which suspended the peace process on Saturday, would begin a sweep against Eta operatives. "I would expect significant arrests in the next few weeks," said Charles Powell, a professor of history at San Pablo CEU university in Madrid.
Mr Zapatero also needs to mend fences with France, where security officials have insisted Eta remained active despite the ceasefire. Eta members stole the van used in Saturday's bombing in southern France.
Analysts believe Mr Zapatero is unlikely to declare the peace process over as that would represent a victory for his right-wing opponents. Instead, he may invoke the ups and downs of the Northern Ireland peace process.
- (Financial Times service)