SPAIN'S opposition odd concept of what 'renovation' is:

Spain's Socialists, struggling to regroup after a crushing November electoral defeat, are considering choosing a female leader for the first time in their history.

They meet this weekend to decide between ebullient 40-year-old ex-defence minister Carme Chacon and her rival, the wily, highly experienced former deputy premier, 60-year-old Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba.

If Chacon emerges victorious from the party congress being held from Friday to Sunday in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain, she will be the first woman to lead one of Spain's two main parties.

Nothing like the just-ousted deputy prime minister or the just-ousted defense minister, having both just suffered the worst electoral defeat on record, to revive a struggling party, eh?