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Spain Growth of the PSOE and the 1982 Elections
In the immediate aftermath of the coup, the various
sectors
within the UCD closed ranks briefly around their new prime
minister, Calvo Sotelo, but internal cleavages prevented
the
formation of a coherent centrist party. Clashes between
the
moderate and the rightist elements within the UCD,
particularly
over the divorce bill, resulted in resignations of
dissenting
groups and the formation of new splinter parties and
coalitions.
These developments in turn led to a series of election
defeats in
1981 and 1982, and by the time a general election was
called in
August for October 1982, the UCD's representation in the
Cortes
was down by one-third.
As the UCD continued to disintegrate, the PSOE gained
strength; it was considered more likely than the
increasingly
conservative UCD to bring about the sweeping social and
economic
reforms that the Spanish people desired. Moreover, party
leader
Gonzalez had been successful in his efforts to direct the
PSOE
toward a more centrist-left position, as seen in his
successful
persuasion of PSOE delegates in 1979 to drop the term
"Marxist"
from the party's definition of itself. The PSOE was
thereby able
to project an image of greater moderation and reliability,
and it
became a viable governmental alternative. The PSOE also
benefited
from the decline of the PCE. The heavy-handed management
style of
PCE leader Santiago Carrillo had aggravated the dissension
in the
party over whether to follow a more revolutionary line or
to
adopt more moderate policies. As was the case with the
UCD,
internecine disputes within the PCE resulted in defections
from
the party. With the PCE apparently on the point of
collapse, the
PSOE became the only feasible option for left-wing voters.
When Spaniards went to the polls in record numbers in
October
1982, they gave a sweeping victory to the PSOE, which
received
the largest plurality (48.4 percent) in the post-1977
period. The
party enlarged its share of the 350 seats in the Chamber
of
Deputies to 202, while the UCD, with only 6.8 percent of
the
vote, won only 11 seats. The conservative AP took on the
role of
opposition party
(see Political Developments, 1982-88
, ch.
4).
The most significant implication of the October elections
for the
future of democracy in Spain was the transfer of power
from one
party to another without military intervention or
bloodshed. The
transition to democracy appeared to be complete.
Data as of December 1988
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