History of Spain (1975–present) changed the tide of the vote. Internally and outwards, the attacks were seen as the result of Spain support to the US in the Iraq War. The election was held on March 14, 2004 and PSOE, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, won a plurality of seats in Congress of Deputies, and was able to form a government with the support of minor parties. Because he failed to secure a majority in the 2004 election, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero became prime minister with the support of IU, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Canarian Coalition (CC). This is not a
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq. The decision aroused international support worldwide, though the Bush administration claimed that terrorists could perceive it as "a victory obtained due to the 2004 Madrid train bombings". John Kerry, then Democratic party candidate for the U.S. Presidency, asked Zapatero not to withdraw the Spanish soldiers. Some months after withdrawing the troops, the Zapatero government agreed to increase the number of Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan and to send troops to Haiti to show the Spanish Government's willingness to spend resources on international missions approved by the United Nations. On 8 June 2004, with the withdrawal already