The

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE) held an

extraordinary Extraordinary may refer to: Music * "Extraordinary" (Clean Bandit song), 2014 * "Extraordinary" (Liz Phair song), 2004 * "Extraordinary" (Mandy Moore song), 2007 * "Extraordinary", a song by Idina Menzel from '' Idina'', 2016 * "Extraordinary", ...

federal

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

from 26 to 27 July 2014, to renovate its governing bodies—including the post of secretary-general, which amounted to that of

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...

. A

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

to elect the new party secretary-general was held on 13 July. The congress was called by outgoing PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba after his party's poor results at the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...

, garnering just 23% of the vote. Rubalcaba announced his intention not to run for either his party's leadership or for the

2015 Spanish general election A General elections in Spain, general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 20 December 2015, to elect the members of the 11th . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate of Spain, ...

Election system

This Federal Congress was the first held at a national level in which all party members and affiliates (around 200,000) had the possibility to be consulted, several days before the Congress was held, about which person they wanted to become the new party leader. While not a legally binding ballot, the results were likely to be respected by the 1,000 party delegates which finally elected the new party's Secretary-General. Party members wishing to contend the election were required to gather the endorsement of at least 5% of the party membership before June 27.

Background

The 2011 general election had resulted in a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...

for

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (, ; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

's People's Party (PP), a result of the

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with Bank run#Systemic banki ...

which had been hurting the country's economy since 2008. The ruling

(PSOE), amidst a climate of high unpopularity, was ousted from power with the worst election result since the first post-

Francoist Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

electoral process in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. Then

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

had decided to stand down as PM candidate in early 2011 and as party leader once the quadrennial

party congress The terms party conference ( UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party memb ...

due for early 2012 was held. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, PSOE candidate for the 2011 election and former

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, was elected new Secretary-General in a tight fight against former

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Carme Chacón Carme Maria Chacón Piqueras (; March 13, 1971April 9, 2017) was a Spanish lawyer, lecturer and politician who was minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011 in the cabinet led by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. A member of t ...

. However, as the new Rajoy's government was forced to pass new austerity measures and spending cuts, including a harsh labor reform and a very austere

state budget A government budget is a projection of the government's revenues and expenditure for a particular period, often referred to as a financial or fiscal year, which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. Government revenues mostly include ...

for 2012, the new Government's ratings plummeted in opinion polls as it met with widespread protests and two general strikes. Little over 6 months of government had seen support for the PP government plummet from 45% in the general election to 34% in mid-to late 2012 polls, the most support lost by a political party in its first months of government in the country's history. However, despite the PP's falling ratings, the PSOE found itself unable to regain lost support, suffering from the memory on Zapatero's last government and his economic management, as well as the emergence of major corruption scandals in both parties, regarding possible illegal financing on both the People's Party and the Socialist Party regional government of Andalusia. A series of negative regional election results throughout 2012, coupled with an internal crisis in 2013 and the threat of rupture from the party's Catalonia partner, the

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

(PSC), further weakened the PSOE, with Rubalcaba's leadership being put into question as his popularity ratings plummeted. The crisis was temporarily settled after the party's political conference in November 2013, with the question on the party's leadership being initially postponed for late 2014. After the European Parliament election, 2014 culminated in a major election crash for the party, coupled with a spectacular rise in support for newly created Podemos party, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba announced his intention not to run as his party's candidate for the 2015 general election and to have the party hold an extraordinary Congress for July 2014.

Timetable

The key dates are listed below: *26 May: Official announcement and census closure. *6–9 June: Communication of provisional census and period of correction of census incidents. *10 June: Communication of definitive census. *10–13 June: Presentation of pre-candidates. *13–28 June: Endorsement collection period (until 27 June) and provisional candidate proclamations. *29 June–2 July: Allegation and definitive candidate proclamations. *3–12 July: Information campaign. *13 July:

Primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

(to elect the Secretary-General). *13–19 July: Provincial and insular congresses. Election of delegates and amendment period. *26–27 July: Extraordinary federal congress.

Candidates

Declined

The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running: File:Carme Chacón 2010 (cropped).jpg, File:Susana Díaz 2015g (cropped).jpg, File:Emiliano García-Page 2015b (cropped).jpg, File:Patxi López 2013 (cropped).jpg, File:Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba 2012b (cropped).jpg, *

(age ) —

Member of the Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has 350 members elected from fifty-two constituencie ...

for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

; Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ; Minister of Defence of Spain ; Minister of Housing of Spain ; Secretary of Culture of the PSOE ; First Vice President of the Congress of Deputies ; Secretary of Education, Universities, Culture and Research of the PSOE ; First Deputy Mayor of Esplugues de Llobregat ; City Councillor of Esplugues de Llobregat . * Susana Díaz (age ) —

President of the Regional Government of Andalusia The president of the Regional Government of Andalusia () or, simply the president of Andalusia (), is the premier of the devolution, devolved government of the Spain, Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. The p ...

; Secretary-General of the PSOE–A ; Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

; Minister of the Presidency and Equality of Andalusia ; Secretary-General of the PSOE–A in the province of Seville ;

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

appointed by the

Parliament of Andalusia The Parliament of Andalusia () is the legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia instituted by the Andalusian Charter of Autonomy of 1981. It is elected by the residents of Andalusia every four years. Functions *To elect the ...

; Secretary of Organization of the PSOE–A ; Secretary of Organization of the PSOE–A in the province of Seville ;

for

; Deputy Mayor for Human Resources in Seville ; City Councillor of Seville ; Secretary of Organization of the JSA . * Emiliano García-Page (age ) — Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ;

Patxi López Francisco Javier "Patxi" López Álvarez (; born 4 October 1959) is a Spanish politician serving as Member of the Congress of Deputies and chair of the Constitutional Committee. He has only completed secondary education but never graduated fro ...

(age ) — Member of the Basque Parliament for

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

; Secretary of Political Relations of the PSOE ; Secretary-General of the PSE–EE (PSOE) ;

Lehendakari The President of the Basque Government (, ), usually known in the Basque language as the Lehendakari (, ), is the head of government of the Basque Autonomous Community. The lehendakari leads the executive branch of the regional government. T ...

; Member of the Basque Parliament for

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

; Secretary-General of the PSE–EE (PSOE) in Biscay ; Secretary of Organization of the PSE–EE (PSOE) ;

for

; Secretary-General of the JSE–EGAZ . * Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba (age ) — Secretary-General of the PSOE ; Leader of the Opposition of Spain ;

for

; Member of the PSOE Executive Commission ;

First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

; Spokesperson of the Government ;

for

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

; Minister of the Interior of Spain ;

for

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

; Spokesperson of the Socialist Parliamentary Group of the Congress ; Secretary of Communication of the PSOE ; Minister of the Presidency of Spain ;

for Toledo ; Minister of Education and Science of Spain ; Secretary of State of Education of Spain ; Secretary-General for Education of Spain ; Director-General for University Education of Spain .

Endorsements

Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 5% of party members.

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. Polls show data gathered among PSOE voters/supporters as well as Spanish voters as a whole, but not among party members, who were the ones ultimately entitled to vote in the primary election.

PSOE voters

Spanish voters

Results

Primary

Overall

By region

Congress

Aftermath

In his victory speech after being elected as secretary-general by party members,

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...

proclaimed "the beginning of a new time in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party" and that it was "the beginning of the end of

as prime minister". He was formally named to the post on 26 July succeeding Rubalcaba, who announced his intention to quit from active politics and to return to his post

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in the

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

faculty, in the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. Upon his official proclamation as Secretary-General, Sánchez stated that "We he PSOEare the party of change, we are the left that will change Spain", urging all Socialists to "work for the millions of people that need a renewed PSOE" and to make the party "the most formidable instrument for making the country progress". Sánchez promised to be blunt with corruption cases within the party, to look forward the promotion of a federal amendment of the

Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...

and that his executive will report in an open assembly to the militants once per year. Sánchez stated that he was inspired by the "modernization drives" of both

Felipe González Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a retired Spanish politician who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996 and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. He is the longest-serving democratically- ...

in the past as well as of Italian Democratic Party leader

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

Notes

References

;Opinion poll sources ;Other {{DEFAULTSORT:PSOE congress, 2014 2014 conferences 2014 elections in Spain 2014 political party leadership elections June 2014 in Spain July 2014 in Spain Primary elections in Spain

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...