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By Jason Moore THE Spanish newspapers of recent weeks have been comparing the different reactions in Spain and Britain following bombings in their capital cities. In Spain, the Madrid bombings, were timed to coincide with the general elections and the pro-Bush Partido Popular government was ousted from office. In Britain, Tony Blair's popularity has actually increased with many saying that he is the right person to lead the country in these difficult times. The pro-Partido Popular media in Spain has heaped praise on Britain, saying that three political parties have acted responsibility by giving their support to the government, unlike Spain where the opposition socalists allegedly turned-on the government. I don't think you can compare the London and Madrid bombings eventhough they were carried out by the same terror organisation. The reason why the Partido Popular were ousted from office was because of their handling of the whole situation; the government blamed Basque terrorists when it was evident from the size and scale of the attacks that it was Al Qaeda. It was a very emotional time and one thing you do expect during these awful moments is the truth. The truth was not forthcoming and the government fell. In Britain, Blair, has handled the situation very well, showing real statesmanship qualities. He also been helped by a media, which has also been exceptionally responsible, perhaps too much so, prompting one Spanish journalist to ask me, whether or not some sort of censorship had been introduced. There is no comparison between London and Madrid, the only positive thing is that it has brought the two countries much closer together.