Spanish voters head to the polls Sunday, with all indications pointing to a win for Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party after nearly eight years of Socialist rule led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The election comes as Spain fights to avoid slipping back into recession for the second time in two years. Unemployment stands at 21.5 percent, the highest rate in 15 years.

Spain's economic growth rate ground to a halt in the third quarter, after rising just 0.2 percent in the second quarter. The country also is being dragged down by severe austerity measures, mounting debt and a bleak economic outlook for the future.

Prime Minister Zapatero's government liberalized the social policy of the traditionally Roman Catholic country by introducing such reforms as gay marriage. But he has been widely criticized for his handling of the economy. Mr. Zapatero is seen as having been slow to react to Spain's financial crisis and the bursting housing bubble.

His reputation with voters dropped so substantially that he announced earlier this year that he would not run for reelection. Former Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba will succeed him as the Socialist candidate. But if Rajoy wins, he has a difficult balancing act ahead of him. He must find a way to lower the deficit while boosting investor confidence — all without raising taxes or cutting spending so much that it drags the economy into another recession.