The social bases of Spanish politics

Abstract

This article studies the relationship between the party system and the social profile of the people who vote for these parties. The article consists of four parts. After a brief review of the evolution of the party system from the transition to the 2004 general election, the relationship between the socialist party and the unions is presented, along with its electoral consequences during the period of socialist government. Finally, an explanation is attempted of why the PP, which achieved in one term what the socialist party had not managed to accomplish in four terms (a good relationship with the unions), forgot this lesson as soon as it attained an absolute majority. Throughout this process, the shifts in the parties’ social foundations are revealed, as well as the different patterns of voting associated with them. Thus, for example, the weakening of the class vote throughout the nineties (partly as a consequence of the bad relations between the socialist party and the unions) and the emergence of the so-called economic vote (which reached its zenith in the 2000 election) are discussed. Other shifts, in contrast, are related to the political cycles and to changes in the profiles of the people who vote for the parties as they govern.