The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) held its 34th federal congress in Madrid from 20 to 22 June 1997, 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.

Felipe González, who had led the PSOE since 1974 and had been prime minister of Spain between 1982 and 1996, announced in the first day of congress that he would not be seeking re-election as party leader, a move that caught everyone by surprise. This move was seen as a way to facilitate the party's renovation, but also to put an end to tensions over the continuity of his former colleague and now rival, deputy secretary-general Alfonso Guerra, who was forced to step down as a result.

Amid fears of an internal struggle over party succession, with possible contenders including former public works minister Josep Borrell, regional party leaders and González himself backed former several times minister Joaquín Almunia as the latter's replacement. Almunia would be elected unopposed as new secretary-general, securing 74.7% of the delegate vote in the congress for his executive, with 25.3% casting blank ballots.

Background Initially scheduled for 1998, the leadership of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) announced that it would hold the party's congress one year earlier, in June 1997, in order to better organize themselves as the opposition to the incumbent government of the People's Party (PP) under prime minister José María Aznar.

The congress had been initially expected to focus on the continuity of deputy secretary-general Alfonso Guerra—whose support had dwindled internally—in the party's executive, as well as various proposals to renovate the party's image and structure (including a proposal for drastically reducing the executive body's size and move the party's regional leaders to a separate political body having been brought forward by PSOE leader Felipe González). González's leadership of the party was not in question, despite his previous plans in 1995 to renounce as its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the 1996 Spanish general election in favour of then-foreign affairs minister Javier Solana—a plan thwarted by Solana's election as NATO secretary-general in December 1995—and González's own announcement in May 1997 that he did not wish to run for the post of prime minister again. Overall, it was assumed that González would remain at the helm of the party's transition towards its renovation.

As the congress date came closer, the political focus centered on Guerra's position, with a majority of PSOE regional leaders pushing for his removal. Guerra himself threatened to entrench himself in the post with the support of party delegates, while denouncing a "conspiracy" against him. Tensions rose further when, in the week preceding the congress, the PSOE leadership dared Guerra to challenge González's list. In the hours previous to the congress' start, it emerged that González would be addressing the process for his succession in his opening remarks in order to move the focus from the internal struggle around Guerra's future.

Candidates Candidate Notable positions Announced Proposed Candidates who were officially proposed to contest the party congress. Joaquín Almunia(age ) Spokesperson of the Socialist Group of the Congress Secretary of Studies and Programs of the PSOE Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid Minister for Public Administrations of Spain Minister of Labour and Social Security of Spain Secretary of Trade Union Policy of the PSOE 21 June 1997

Declined The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:

Manuel Chaves (age ) — Secretary-General of the PSOE–A ; President of the Regional Government of Andalusia ; Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Cádiz ; Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ; Minister of Labour and Social Security of Spain ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Cádiz ; Secretary of Economy of the PSOE . José Bono (age ) — President of the PSCM–PSOE ; 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 ; 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 . Josep Borrell (age ) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona ; 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 . Felipe González (age ) – Leader of the Opposition of Spain ; Secretary-General of the PSOE ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid ; Prime Minister of Spain ; President pro tempore of the Council of the European Union ; Spokesperson of the Congress Socialist Parliamentary Group . Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (age ) — Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ; President of the Regional Government of Extremadura ; Secretary-General of the PSOE of Extremadura ; Member of the Assembly of Extremadura for Badajoz ; Secretary-General of the PSOE of Badajoz ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Badajoz ; Minister of Health and Social Security of Extremadura . Ramón Jáuregui (age ) — Minister of Justice, Labour and Social Security of the Basque Country ; Member of the Basque Parliament for Gipuzkoa ; Secretary-General of the PSE–PSOE/PSE–EE (PSOE) ; Vice Lehendakari ; President of the PSE–PSOE ; Delegate of the Government of Spain in the Basque Country ; City Councillor of San Sebastián ; President of the Caretaker Commission of the City Council of San Sebastián . Pasqual Maragall (age ) — President of the European Committee of the Regions ; Mayor of Barcelona ; City Councillor of Barcelona ; Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona ; Deputy Mayor for Administrative Organization and Reform of Barcelona . Francisco Vázquez (age ) — Secretary-General of the PSdeG–PSOE ; Mayor of A Coruña ; City Councillor of A Coruña ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for A Coruña ; President of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces ; Member of the Parliament of Galicia for A Coruña .

Opinion polls Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the candidate's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded.

PSOE voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead ASEP 7–11 Jul 1997 1,214 7.9 4.1 15.7 4.1 7.0 0.0 0.6 29.4 31.4 7.8

Spanish voters Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Other/None Lead ASEP 7–11 Jul 1997 1,214 5.2 1.8 9.7 2.6 5.1 0.2 0.4 – – 36.3 38.7 4.5 Opina/La Vanguardia 8–11 Apr 1994 2,000 – 5.5 2.3 – – 0.8 4.7 2.9 1.2 16.4 66.2 0.8

Delegate estimations González's allies (renovadores, Spanish for "renovators") were estimated as having the support of about 80% of elected delegated to the congress, whereas the pro-Guerra faction (guerristas) was attributed between less than 20% and no more than 25%.

Results Overall + Summary of the 21–22 June 1997 congress results Candidate Votes % Votes % Joaquín Almunia 681 74.67 823 89.17 Blank ballots 231 25.33 100 10.83 Total 912 923 Valid votes 912 99.78 923 99.78 Invalid votes 2 0.22 2 0.22 Votes cast / turnout 914 96.72 925 97.88 Not voting 31 3.28 20 2.12 Total delegates 945 945 Sources

Executive composition

+ PSOE federal executive commission Post Officeholder President Ramón Rubial Secretary-General Joaquín Almunia Secretary of Organization Ciprià Ciscar Secretary of Communication Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Secretary of International Relations Raimon Obiols Secretary of Regional Policy Ramón Jáuregui Secretary of Local Policy Alfonso Perales Secretary of Economy Juan Manuel Eguiagaray Secretary of Employment Joan Lerma Secretary of Social Welfare Clementina Díez de Baldeón Secretary of Social Movements Carmen Cerdeira Secretary of Culture Joaquín Leguina Secretary of Women Participation Micaela Navarro Member without portfolio José Bono Member without portfolio Josep Borrell Member without portfolio Augusto Brito Member without portfolio Abel Caballero Member without portfolio Manuel Chaves Member without portfolio Dolores Eguren Member without portfolio Josefa Frau Member without portfolio Carmen Hermosín Member without portfolio Ana Leiva Member without portfolio María Antonia Martínez Member without portfolio Carmen Martínez Ten Member without portfolio Ana Noguera Member without portfolio Alberto Pérez Cueto Member without portfolio Montserrat Reyes Member without portfolio Teresa Riera Member without portfolio José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Member without portfolio Consuelo Rumí Member without portfolio Paquita Sauquillo Member without portfolio Narcís Serra Member without portfolio Francisco Vázquez Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

Other

Bibliography