The 2011 General Election in Spain: The Collapse of the Socialist Party

Abstract

The 2011 general election in Spain had unprecedented results. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) got its worst electoral results ever in general elections and the Popular Party (PP) won and obtained its second absolute majority since the establishment of democracy. We sustain that the defeat of PSOE can be considered a more defining feature of the elections than the victory of PP. Minority parties increased their electoral support and three new parties entered Congress. This article analyses the political and economic context that led to these changes with respect to the previous elections of 2008.