Spain: Exhaustion of the Left Project?

The article considers the two countrywide political forces on the Spanish left, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and United Left (IU). A brief history of the parties is followed by an assessment of their current prospects. It is argued that several changes of leadership within the PSOE since former Prime Minister Felipe González resigned in 1997 have been only one indication of the difficulties faced by the party as it seeks to establish itself as an effective opposition force. Attention is given to the key constraints impinging on the PSOE during its thirteen-year period in office, including European integration. Finally, the article considers whether the electoral decline suffered by IU is likely to be reversible in the post-Anguita era.