YouTube brings life, weirdness to Spain election

By Jason Webb

MADRID (Reuters) - If it weren't for YouTube, a man wearing a little black dress and a pearl necklace would be unlikely to get a question in for the leader of the Spanish opposition.

Hundreds of Spaniards have lodged YouTube questions for the two main candidates in a parliamentary election on March 9, addressing issues ranging from pensions and workers' rights to gay marriage and the environment.

The format has already been rehearsed in the United States, where a YouTube debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was praised for its spontaneity.

But so far, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has limited any possible embarrassing moments by responding to only a handful of relatively tame clips picked by Spanish television.

One woman wanted to know how he could guarantee public services while cutting taxes, and a man complained about the lack of job security for Spanish workers.

Zapatero responded to each with ease.

If the idea was to force politicians to address the needs of ordinary people by shaking them from their usual scripts, it did not work.

More offbeat offerings lurk on YouTube's Spanish election site, including one from a transvestite in a black dress who was indignant about conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy's distaste for gay marriage.