The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) held its 35th federal congress in Madrid from 21 to 23 July 2000, to renovate its governing bodies—including the post of secretary-general, which amounted to that of party leader—and establish the party platform and policy until the next congress. It was called following the PSOE's defeat in the 2000 general election and the subsequent resignation of then secretary-general, Joaquín Almunia. A caretaker commission under Andalusian president Manuel Chaves was appointed to organize the congress and manage the party in the interim.
The main issue dominating the congress was the renovation of the party, following 23 years of leadership under Felipe González—who had also been prime minister of Spain between 1982 and 1996—and Alfonso Guerra as his deputy. While González had stepped down in the previous congress in 1997, his influence in the party apparatus, together with that of the powerful PSOE regional leaders, helped elect Almunia as new leader. A primary election in 1998 saw the party's grassroots electing Josep Borrell as the PSOE's prime ministerial nominee, sparking a duumvirate with Almunia which was only resolved after Borrell's withdrawal in 1999.
In the lead up to the congress, party factions coalesced around four main candidates in the leadership contest: president of Castilla–La Mancha, José Bono, who represented positions in the Christian left; José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a deputy for León representing a Blairism-inspired social liberalism (a "New Way"); the leader of the PSOE delegation in the European Parliament, Rosa Díez, who advocated for a participatory social democracy; and former social affairs minister Matilde Fernández, who represented democratic socialist views and was backed by both Guerra's (guerristas) and Borrell's (borrellistas) supporters. As a result, it became the first competitive PSOE congress since 1979.
Under a plurality voting system, Zapatero unexpectedly won the ballot to initial favourite Bono by nine votes. Fernández and Díez placed a distant third and fourth places. Zapatero's victory was attributed in part to tactical voting from Díez's supporters and some guerristas who, inspired by Zapatero's speech during the congress, decided their support in the last minute in an effort to prevent Bono from becoming new party leader. Zapatero would subsequently win the 2004 Spanish general election and become prime minister of Spain.
Background
Since the early 1990s, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) had been embroiled in an internal power and ideological struggle between those following the doctrine of its deputy secretary-general, Alfonso Guerra (dubbed as guerristas), and those supporting the party's renovation, headed by party leader Felipe González (referred to as renovadores, Spanish for "renovators"); this had been publicly revealed in the 1994 party congress, which resulted in Guerra losing control of the party apparatus to the renovator faction. The 1996 Spanish general election saw the PSOE lose the national government for the first time since 1982, with José María Aznar of the People's Party (PP) becoming new prime minister through an alliance with peripheral nationalist parties, in what would be coined as the "Majestic Pact".
A new party congress was called for June 1997 in order to define the PSOE's new role in opposition, but Guerra's continuity as deputy leader became the political focus and threatened party unity. In an attempt to end the struggle and force a full party renovation, González announced his surprise withdrawal from frontline politics. Joaquín Almunia was elected as new PSOE secretary-general, but the process was perceived as rushed, heavily influenced by the party's elites—the powerful regional leaders (colloquially referred to as barones, Spanish for "barons") as well as González himself—while other potential candidates, such as former public works minister Josep Borrell, were sidelined.
Borrell contested and unexpectedly won the party's prime ministerial primaries in April 1998, originally intended by Almunia as a way to legitimize his leadership. A "bicephaly" ( duumvirate) situation ensued in which both of them clashed for months on their roles and the party's platform, with this only ending following Borrell's withdrawal in May 1999 and the proclamation of Almunia as nominee in July.
The 2000 general election saw a landslide victory for the ruling PP and the PSOE being reduced to its worst result since 1979. This prompted Almunia to announce his immediate resignation as PSOE leader, triggering a leadership contest through an ordinary party congress which was set to be held on 21−23 July 2000. During his assessment of the election results, Almunia noted that one of the main reasons for the defeat was the party's failure to undertake a complete renovation after being ousted from power in 1996. PSOE regional leaders negotiated the appointment of a caretaker commission—the Political Commission—under Andalusian president Manuel Chaves, to organize the congress, manage the party in the interim and prevent a power vacuum. The goal was for a congress that served as "the starting point for a profound change" in the party, while deviating from the previous practice of reaching elite pacts that accommodated the various PSOE families through the influence of the regional leaders.
Overview Role The Federal Congress was the highest decision-making body of the PSOE, having the ability to define the party platform and policy, amend its statutes and internal regulations and elect its federal governing bodies, which included the Executive Commission—a board of directors responsible for the day-to-day management of the party under the coordination of a secretary-general, which was the party leader—and 49 members in the Federal Committee (an assembly of party notables and elected representatives, which was the PSOE's highest body between congresses).
Depending on whether a congress was held following the natural end of its term or due to any other exceptional circumstances, it could be of either ordinary or extraordinary nature. Ordinary PSOE congresses were to be held every three or four years and called at least four months in advance, whereas extraordinary congresses—which allowed to fill vacancies affecting the post of secretary-general or half plus one of the members of the federal executive commission—could be called 40 days in advance, but they did not allow to define the party's platform and the resulting elected officials were limited to serve out what remained of the previous congress' original term until the next ordinary one.
Procedure Congress delegates were elected by party members of the corresponding territorial area and in full enjoyment of their political rights, using closed list proportional representation. In a first stage of the process, local assemblies were to be held to elect representatives to the respective provincial, regional and island conventions; then, these conventions would elect the party delegates who were to attend the federal congress.
The election of the secretary-general was on the basis of indirect suffrage through the delegates. The system and procedure to elect the new party leadership were a subject of discussion until the congress itself, occasionally together with the selection procedure for prime ministerial nominees and the use of the primary election system. A proposal establishing a split-vote was approved and adopted: a first ballot was to elect the person occupying the post of secretary-general under plurality voting, then a second vote was to be held on the composition of the new leader's proposed executive commission. Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 10% of congress delegates, a requirement introduced to prevent spontaneous, phony candidacies. Concurrently, candidates seeking to access the party resources for their campaigns were required to previously secure the endorsement of at least 10% of the members in the Federal Committee.
The selection of the candidate for prime minister through primaries was postponed until after the congress.
Timetable The key dates of the congress process are listed below (all times are CET), as approved by the Political Commission in a meeting on 10 April 2000:
22 March: Official announcement of the congress. 10 April: Approval of the congress' timetable. 2 June: Start of local assemblies to elect representatives to the provincial, regional and island conventions. 11 June: Deadline for local assemblies to be held. 12 June: Start of provincial, regional and island conventions to elect party delegates. 25 June: Deadline for provincial, regional and island conventions to be held. 21 July: Start of federal congress. 22 July: Election of the secretary-general. 23 July: Election of party governing bodies; end of federal congress.
Candidates Candidate Notable positions Announced Qualified Candidates who met endorsement requirements and qualified to contest the party congress. Rosa Díez(age ) President of the PSOE Delegation in the European Parliament Member of the European Parliament for Spain Member of the Basque Parliament for Biscay Minister of Trade, Consumer Affairs and Tourism of the Basque Country City Councillor of Güeñes Member of the Basque Parliament for Álava Second Vice President of the General Assembly of Biscay Member of the General Assembly of Biscay for Encartaciones Member of the General Assembly of Biscay for Valmaseda 4 May 2000 Matilde Fernández(age ) City Councillor of Madrid President of the PSC–PSOE Member of the Congress of Deputies for Cantabria Member of the PSOE Executive Commission Minister of Social Affairs of Spain 27 May 2000 José Bono(age ) Member of the PSOE Executive Commission Member of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha for Toledo President of the Regional Government of Castilla–La Mancha President of the PSCM–PSOE Secretary-General of the PSCM–PSOE Member of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha for Albacete Member of the Congress of Deputies for Albacete Fourth Secretary of the Congress of Deputies 17 June 2000 José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero(age ) Member of the PSOE Executive Commission Secretary-General of the PSOE in the province of León Member of the Congress of Deputies for León 25 June 2000
Declined The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:
Cristina Alberdi (age ) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid ; President of the FSM–PSOE ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Málaga ; Minister of Social Affairs of Spain . Joaquín Almunia (age ) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid ; Leader of the Opposition of Spain ; Secretary-General of the PSOE ; Spokesperson of the Socialist Group of the Congress ; Secretary of Studies and Programs of the PSOE ; Minister of Public Administrations of Spain ; Minister of Labour and Social Security of Spain ; Secretary of Trade Union Policy of the PSOE . Juan Alberto Belloch (age ) — Senator for Zaragoza ; Spokesperson of the Socialist Group in the City Council of Zaragoza ; City Councillor of Zaragoza ; President of the PSOE–Aragon ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Zaragoza ; Ministry of Justice and Interior of Spain ; Ministry of Justice of Spain ; Member of the General Council of the Judiciary ; President of the Provincial Court of Biscay . Josep Borrell (age ) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona ; Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ; Leader of the Opposition of Spain ; Spokesperson of the Socialist Group of the Congress ; Minister of Public Works, Transport and Environment of Spain ; Minister of Public Works and Urbanism of Spain ; Secretary of State of Finance of Spain ; Secretary-General of Budget and Public Expenditure of Spain ; City Councillor of Majadahonda .