Viva Espana
The timing of the election is a last throw of the dice by the current Socialist government - which has been in power for the past 8 years.
Their last hope is a desperate one - that somehow the spectre of Spain's former fascist leader - El Caudillo - will save the Socialists from electoral defeat.
It won't - their fate is sealed it appears.
And all that's in doubt is the scale and extent of their loss - heavy but sustainable - or seismically bad - with former heartlands falling to their opponents.
The Socialist government has been struggling with the same economic problems as the rest of Europe - and dealing with them in broadly the same way as other neighbouring countries - no matter their political persuasion.
The recipe for getting out of this economic mess is always the same: a cocktail of increased taxes - efforts to improve productivity - and reductions in public spending.
No one likes the nasty medicine of course - but no one believes they can spend their way out of trouble - by runnning up even more debt.
Not the Socialists in Spain - or the Socialists in Greece - or the Conservatives in Italy.
No one in the UK Labour party believes the country can spend its way out of a debt induced recession - either.
But some people like to give that impression - because Punch and Judy politics is the only game in town - when a party finds itself in opposition.
The Spanish Socialists have done some good things in their time in office - not least cajoling the former Basque terrorist group - ETA - into a permanent ceasefire.
Jose Zapatero grew into the job of Prime Minister and left his mark - modernising the economy and continuing the transformation of Spain - from 'cheap and cheerful' to a modern, successful European country.
But just like Labour in the UK, the Spanish Socialists ran out of road - Zapatero decided he'd had enough - and so his party's fate was sealed.
A more hawkish conservative party - the Popular Party or PP is expected to win - and win big on Sunday.
Just how big is the only question.
