Madrid - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was Tuesday coming under growing criticism over his handling of the country's economic crisis.

Discontent is reportedly spreading even within the ranks of Zapatero's Socialist Party, though its spokesman denied such reports on Tuesday.

Spain has gone from Europe's economic "miracle" to last among the large European Union economies to recover from the crisis, conservative opposition spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

She made the comments after the European Commission said Spain's economy was expected to shrink 3.7 per cent this year, down from an earlier forecast of 3.2 per cent.

The anti-crisis measures taken by the government were based on "permanent improvisation," Saenz de Santamaria charged.

Zapatero's former economy minister Pedro Solbes, who is also a former European monetary affairs commissioner, resigned Monday as member of parliament, allegedly to avoid voting for a budget he disapproved of.

Solbes was already the third former minister of the Zapatero government to leave parliament within two weeks.

The government is being accused of wasting public money on inefficient measures to shore up the economy and to stem unemployment running at 18 per cent, the highest in the EU.

Budget deficit is expected to soar to around 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, while EU governments are supposed to limit it to 3 per cent.

Many Socialists were "baffled" over what they saw as the government's contradictory messages, erratic measures and Zapatero's increasingly authoritarian style, the usually pro-government daily El Pais reported.

Socialist spokesman Jose Antonio Alonso denied such reports, saying there was a "general consensus" on economic policy within the party.

Zapatero reiterated that "the worst of the crisis is over" and that the economy would start growing again in 2010. (dpa)