Spain’s Socialist prime minister on Wednesday accused his conservative opponents of “unpatriotically” sowing alarm about the economy as he sought to dispel fears that the country was succumbing to the international credit squeeze ahead of a general election in early March.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said he was confident Spain would grow by “at least” 3 per cent in 2008, compared with 3.7 per cent in 2007 and that, with the end of the construction boom, growth would be “more balanced, more productive and more sustainable”.