the sanchez family vote socialist

It was the year 2004.
I was in Spain.
The dust had barely settled on the streets from a few days earlier when Muslims had turned Madrid into a slaughterhouse, killing 200 people with explosive devices on trains.
The country was getting ready for an election.
I dined with the Sanchez family.
"How are you going to vote?" I asked.
"We will vote socialist," said Jacinta.
I choked on my acelgas.
"Al Qaeda just bombed your country in order to make you vote socialist," I spluttered. "How could you vote for the party Al Qaeda wants you to vote for? How could you hand them that victory?"
Ramon eyed me keenly and stayed silent.
His wife answered.
"The conservatives pretended they thought the Basques did the bombing," she told me. "We have to punish them for that."
There was an awkward silence.
A far away look had come into my eyes.
It's the look I get when I'm about to lose friends.
"If you vote socialist after what the Muslims just did," I said, "you are surrendering to Al Qaeda and you are voting to end Spain."