The Spanish United Left – The Belated and Troublesome Transition from Policy- to Office-seeking

Abstract

For many years the Spanish United Left/Izquierda Unida (IU) had a low share of parliamentary seats and a radical left-wing profile, and subsequently no governing potential. In the late 1990s, however, the party moved from its traditional role as an opposition party to one with real ambitions for government. The IU managed to establish itself as a governing partner at the regional level from 1999 and it acted as support party at the national level from 2004 to 2008 – and this despite its lack of experience in government, a non-pivotal and non-central ideological position in the party system, and being riddled with factionalism (S¸tefuriuc and Verge, 2008). This subsequently represented a big step for a party whose radical programmes and fierce confrontation with the main Social Democratic party (the PSOE) had previously rendered it non-coalitionable. This chapter analyses the strategic choices made by the party in the period 1999– 2008 which led it to seize the various opportunities it had to influence national and regional politics and shape policy outcomes. This chapter also reflects on the paucity of change, examining both how the party’s organisational structure and dynamics have affected IU’s turn towards more office-seeking considerations and the impact that this new strategy has had on the very same party organisation.