38th Federal Congress of the PSOE

38th Federal Congress of the PSOE

←  2008 3−5 February 2012 2014  →
956 delegates in the 38th Federal Congress of the PSOE Plurality of delegates needed to win
Opinion polls
Turnout	955 (99.9%) (secretary) 899 (94.0%) (executive)
Candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Carme Chacón Blank ballots Delegate vote 487 (51.0%) 465 (48.7%) 2 (0.2%) Executive 723 (81.1%) Withdrew 168 (18.9%)
Secretary before election José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Elected Secretary Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba

The 38th Federal Congress of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was held in Seville from 3 to 5 February 2012, to renovate the governing bodies of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term. The congress was called after the PSOE suffered its worst defeat since the Spanish transition to democracy in the general election held on 20 November 2011. Previous secretary-general José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had announced in April the same year he would not stand for election to a third term as Prime Minister of Spain, announcing his intention to step down as party leader after a successor had been elected. ^[1]

The result was a close race between the two candidates to the party leadership: Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the party's candidate for the 2011 general election and former first deputy prime minister and interior minister, and former defence minister Carme Chacón. The ballot saw Rubalcaba win by a 51.0% of the delegate vote (487 votes) to the 48.7% won by Carme Chacón (465 votes), with 2 blank and 1 invalid ballots. ^{[2] [3]}

Timetable

The key dates are listed below (all times are CET): ^[4]

• 26 November: Official announcement of the congress.
• 8 January: Federal committee endorsement submission.
• 9–15 January: Election of congress delegates.
• 3–5 February: Federal congress.

Candidates

Candidate		Age	Notable positions	Announced	Eliminated	Ref.
Candidate elected as secretary-general.
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba		60	Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Cádiz, Cantabria, Madrid and Toledo (since 1993) First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain (2010–2011) Spokesperson of the Government of Spain (1993–1996 and 2010–2011) Minister of the Interior of Spain (2006–2011) Spokesperson of the PSOE Group in the Congress of Deputies (2004–2006) Secretary of Communication of the PSOE (1997–2000) Minister of the Presidency of Spain (1993–1996) Minister of Education and Science of Spain (1992–1993) Secretary of State of Education of Spain (1986–1992)	29 December 2011	YElected	[5]
Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the party congress.
Carme Chacón		40	Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Barcelona (since 2000) Minister of Defence of Spain (2008–2011) Minister of Housing of Spain (2007–2008) First Vice President of the Congress of Deputies (2004–2007) Secretary of Education, Universities, Culture and Research of the PSOE (2000–2004) First Deputy Mayor of Esplugues de Llobregat (1999–2003) City Councillor of Esplugues de Llobregat (1999–2003)	7 January 2012	4 February 2012	[6]
Candidates who announced an intention to run for the primary election, but were rejected as a result of not meeting the endorsement requirement.
Luis Ángel Hierro Recio		48	Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Seville (2004–2007)	8 January 2012	8 January 2012	[7]

Declined

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

• 
  José Blanco
• 
  José Bono
• 
  Emiliano García-Page
• 
  Tomás Gómez
• 
  Eduardo Madina
• 
  José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

• José Blanco (age 49) — Vice Secretary-General of the PSOE (since 2008); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Lugo (since 1996); Spokesperson of the Government of Spain (2011); Minister of Development of Spain (2009–2011); Secretary of Organization of the PSOE (2000–2008); City Councillor of Palas de Rei (1991–1999); Senator in the Cortes Generales for Lugo (1989–1996). ^{[8] [9] [10]}
• Jose Bono (age 60) — President of the PSCM–PSOE (1990–1997 and since 2004); President of the Congress of Deputies (2008–2011); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Albacete and Toledo (1979–1983 and 2008–2011); Minister of Defence of Spain (2004–2006); President of the Junta of Communities of Castilla–La Mancha (1983–2004); Deputy in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha for Albacete and Toledo (1983–2004); Secretary-General of the PSCM–PSOE (1988–1990); Fourth Secretary of the Congress of Deputies (1979–1982). ^[11]
• Emiliano García-Page (age 43) — Senator in the Cortes Generales appointed by the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha (since 2011); Mayor of Toledo (since 2007); City Councillor of Toledo (1987–1993 and since 2007); Secretary-General of the PSCM–PSOE in Toledo (since 1997); Second Vice President of the Junta of Communities of Castilla–La Mancha (2005–2007); Deputy in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha for Toledo (1995–2007); Regional Minister of Institutional Relations of Castilla–La Mancha (2004–2005); Spokesperson of the Government of Castilla–La Mancha (1993–1997, 1998–1999 and 2001–2004); Spokesperson of the PSOE Group in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha (2000–2001); Regional Minister of Social Welfare of Castilla–La Mancha (1999–2000); Regional Minister of Public Works of Castilla–La Mancha (1997–1998); Deputy Mayor for Celebrations of Toledo (1991–1993). ^[12]
• Tomás Gómez (age 43) — Senator in the Cortes Generales appointed by the Assembly of Madrid (since 2011); Spokesperson of the PSOE Group in the Assembly of Madrid (since 2011); Deputy in the Assembly of Madrid (since 2011); Secretary-General of the PSM–PSOE (since 2007); Mayor of Parla (1999–2008); City Councillor of Parla (1999–2008). ^[13]
• Eduardo Madina (age 35) — Secretary-General of the PSOE Group in the Congress of Deputies (since 2009); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Biscay and Madrid (since 2004); City Councillor of Sestao (1999–2001). ^[12]
• José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (age 51) — Secretary-General of the PSOE (since 2000); Prime Minister of Spain (2004–2011); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for León and Madrid (1986–2011); President pro tempore of the Council of the European Union (2010); Leader of the Opposition of Spain (2000–2004). ^[14]

Endorsements

Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 10% of federal committee members and of between 20% and 30% of congress delegates. ^{[7] [15] [16]}

Summary of candidate endorsement results

Candidate		Federal Committee			Delegates
		Count	% T	% V	Count	% T	% V
	Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba	58	23.20	66.67	286	29.92	49.91
	Carme Chacón	29	11.60	33.33	287	30.02	50.09
	Luis Ángel Hierro Recio	Eliminated (below 10%)			—
Total		87			573
Valid endorsements		87	34.80		573	59.94
Not endorsing		163	65.20		383	40.06
Total members		250			956
Sources [3] [17] [18]

Endorsements by committee members Rubalcaba   66.67% Chacón   33.33%

Endorsements by delegates Chacón   50.09% Rubalcaba   49.91%

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 delegates, who were the ones ultimately entitled to vote in the congress election.

PSOE voters

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size										Other /None	?	Lead
			Zapatero (Inc.)	Chacón	Rubalcaba	Bono	López Aguilar	Madina	Blanco	Fernández de la Vega	González
Congress election	4 Feb 2012	— [lower-alpha 1]	–	48.7	51.0	–	–	–	–	–	–	0.2	—	2.3
Metroscopia/El País [p 1]	4–5 Jan 2012	?	–	21.0	44.0	–	–	–	–	–	–	22.0	13.0	23.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 2]	27–29 Dec 2011	?	–	38.2	50.4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11.4	12.2
			–	33.7	35.3	11.0	4.9	3.4	–	–	–	3.3	8.4	1.6
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 3] [p 4]	27 Nov 2011	?	–	27.4	43.1	8.1	–	–	–	–	–	21.4		15.7
Metroscopia/El País [p 5]	30–31 Mar 2011	1,004	10.0	15.0	52.0	14.0	–	–	–	–	–	5.0	4.0	37.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 6]	7–9 Mar 2011	1,000	12.9	–	44.8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	31.9
Opina/Cadena SER [p 7]	12–13 Jan 2011	1,000	26.7	11.8	27.4	12.6	–	–	8.3	–	–	–	13.0	0.7
Opina/Cadena SER [p 8]	28–29 Oct 2010	1,000	36.0	12.4	20.5	13.0	–	–	9.7	–	–	–	8.4	15.5
Metroscopia/El País [p 9] [p 10]	2 Jun 2010	506	35.0	–	8.0	4.0	–	–	3.0	5.0	2.0	7.0	38.0	27.0
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 11]	28–29 Dec 2009	807	–	8.1	11.0	8.8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2.2
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 12]	23–29 Dec 2009	1,000	–	–	19.8	15.5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4.3

Spanish voters

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size													Other /None	?	Lead
			Zapatero (Inc.)	Chacón	Rubalcaba	Bono	López Aguilar	Madina	Blanco	López	Solana	Fernández de la Vega	González	Jiménez
Metroscopia/El País [p 1]	4–5 Jan 2012	1,000	–	18.0	26.0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	36.0	20.0	8.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 2]	27–29 Dec 2011	800	–	37.2	38.5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	24.3	1.3
			–	22.4	26.0	14.4	4.1	3.2	–	–	–	–	–	–	3.9	26.0	3.6
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 3] [p 4]	27 Nov 2011	?	–	19.5	21.2	15.8	2.0	2.4	–	2.5	–	–	–	–	36.6		1.7
Ikerfel/Vocento [p 13]	4–22 Apr 2011	45,635	–	18.8	34.9	11.3	–	–	2.8	–	–	–	–	–	3.1	29.1	16.1
NC Report/La Razón [p 14]	3 Apr 2011	?	–	7.3	25.2	21.2	–	–	–	–	5.2	–	–	–	46.3		4.0
Invymark/laSexta [p 15] [p 16]	2 Apr 2011	?	–	24.8	62.1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13.1		37.3
			–	11.3	44.0	5.9	–	–	1.5	–	–	–	–	–	16.3	7.5	32.7
Metroscopia/El País [p 5]	30–31 Mar 2011	1,004	8.0	17.0	42.0	16.0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10.0	7.0	25.0
NC Report/La Razón [p 17]	14 Mar 2011	?	–	5.7	23.5	20.3	–	–	–	–	6.4	–	–	–	44.1		3.2
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 6]	7–9 Mar 2011	1,000	7.3	10.1	26.9	12.6	–	–	–	–	11.9	–	–	–	–	–	14.3
Opina/Cadena SER [p 7]	12–13 Jan 2011	1,000	16.7	14.6	30.3	18.0	–	–	8.8	–	–	–	–	–	–	11.5	12.3
NC Report/La Razón [p 18] [p 19]	27 Dec 2010	?	–	12.2	32.7	29.5	–	–	9.8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3.2
Opina/Cadena SER [p 8]	28–29 Oct 2010	1,000	21.3	13.7	24.5	19.7	–	–	10.3	–	–	–	–	–	–	10.4	3.2
NC Report/La Razón [p 20]	17 Oct 2010	?	–	15.9	24.5	27.9	–	–	16.2	6.5	9.0	–	–	–	–	–	3.4
Opina/Cadena SER [p 21]	7–8 Oct 2010	1,000	22.1	14.2	20.0	20.6	–	–	11.1	–	–	–	–	–	–	12.0	1.5
Metroscopia/El País [p 9] [p 10]	2 Jun 2010	506	21.0	–	6.0	3.0	–	–	2.0	–	–	2.0	1.0	–	9.0	56.0	15.0
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 11]	28–29 Dec 2009	807	–	5.0	7.0	11.0	–	–	3.0	–	–	4.0	–	3.0	29.0	38.0	4.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 12]	23–29 Dec 2009	1,000	–	6.7	15.5	17.9	–	–	3.2	–	–	9.2	–	–	–	–	2.4

Delegate estimations

Source	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Delegates				Percentage
					Other /None /Unknown				Other /None /Unknown
			Chacón	Rubalcaba			Chacón	Rubalcaba
Congress election	4 Feb 2012	956	465	487	4		48.6	50.9	0.4
Chacón's campaign [19] [20]	3 Feb 2012	924 [lower-alpha 2]	501	421	2		54.2	45.6	0.2
Rubacaba's campaign [19]	3 Feb 2012	924 [lower-alpha 2]	413	506	5		44.7	54.8	0.5
Chacón's campaign [21]	23 Jan 2012	956	488	360	108		51.0	37.7	11.3
Rubacaba's campaign [21] [22]	23 Jan 2012	956	390	540	26		40.8	56.5	2.7
Chacón's campaign [23]	20 Jan 2012	786 [lower-alpha 3]	416	290	80		52.9	36.9	10.2
Rubacaba's campaign [23]	20 Jan 2012	698 [lower-alpha 3]	290	380	28		41.5	54.4	4.0

Results

Summary of the 4–5 February 2012 congress results

Candidate		Secretary		Executive
		Votes	%	Votes	%
	Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba	487	51.05	723	81.14
	Carme Chacón	465	48.74	Withdrew
Blank ballots		2	0.21	168	18.86
Total		954		891
Valid votes		954	99.90	891	99.11
Invalid votes		1	0.10	8	0.89
Votes cast / turnout		955	99.90	899	94.04
Abstentions		1	0.10	57	5.96
Total delegates		956		956
Sources [24] [25] [26]

Vote by delegates (Secretary) Rubalcaba   51.05% Chacón   48.74% Blank ballots   0.21%

Vote by delegates (Executive) Rubalcaba   81.14% Blank ballots   18.86%

Notes

1. PSOE delegates.
2. Does not include delegates from Europe, the Americas and the JSE.
3. Partial count.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "La mayoría apoya los recortes pero rechaza la subida de impuestos". El País (in Spanish). 7 January 2012.
2. "Los jóvenes prefieren a Chacón para liderar el PSOE y los mayores a Rubalcaba". La Voz Libre (in Spanish). 3 January 2012.
3. "Los votantes del PSOE prefieren a Rubalcaba". e-Notícies (in Spanish). 27 November 2011.
4. "Una encuesta "agridulce" para Rubalcaba y Chacón con Bono al fondo". El Semanal Digital (in Spanish). 27 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
5. "Rubalcaba es el candidato preferido". El País (in Spanish). 3 April 2011.
6. "Zapatero en quinta posición para ser candidato del PSOE". El Mundo (in Spanish). 14 March 2011.
7. "Pulsómetro 17/01/11" (PDF). Instituto Opina (in Spanish). 17 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2011.
8. "Pulsómetro 02/11/10" (PDF). Instituto Opina (in Spanish). 2 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2010.
9. "El 77% quiere nuevos candidatos". El País (in Spanish). 6 June 2010.
10. "Clima Social de España (12ª oleada. Junio 2010)" (PDF). Metroscopia (in Spanish). 14 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
11. "El 63% no quiere que Zapatero repita; la alternativa: Rubalcaba o Bono". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2 January 2010.
12. "Bono y Rubalcaba, los sustitutos preferidos para Zapatero". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 2 January 2010.
13. "Encuesta Elecciones 2011". ABC (in Spanish). 1 May 2011.
14. "Rubalcaba encabeza todas las encuestas tras el fin de Zapatero". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 3 April 2011.
15. "Rajoy perdería también contra Rubalcaba y Chacón". Público (in Spanish). 2 April 2011.
16. "La Sexta ya ve al PSOE ganador". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 2 April 2011.
17. "Los españoles piden que Zapatero acabe con la incertidumbre". Antena 3 (in Spanish). 14 March 2011.
18. "Rubalcaba es el favorito para suceder a Zapatero". Antena 3 (in Spanish). 27 December 2010.
19. "La mayoría de los españoles cree que Zapatero no debería presentarse a las elecciones". Antena 3 (in Spanish). 27 December 2010.
20. "Bono se consolida como el preferido y López cae". La Razón (in Spanish). 17 October 2010.
21. "Pulsómetro 13/10/10". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 13 October 2010. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010.

Other

1. "Zapatero convoca un congreso ordinario en la primera semana de febrero". PSOE (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2012.
2. "Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba elegido Secretario General del PSOE". PSOE (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2012.
3. "Partido Socialista Obrero Español. Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, P.Socialista de Euskadi E.E., Partido Socialista Popular, PSOE histórico". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
4. "El Comité Federal convoca el 38º Congreso Federal del PSOE". PSOE (in Spanish). 26 November 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
5. "Rubalcaba se rodea de caras nuevas en su presentación como candidato". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
6. Viúdez, Juana (7 January 2012). "Chacón pide al PSOE que huya del inmovilismo y de la incoherencia". El País (in Spanish). Olula del Río. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
7. "Rubalcaba y Chacón logran los avales necesarios del Comité Federal para convertirse en "precandidatos"" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
8. "Blanco afirma no estar disponible para ser el sucesor de Zapatero". Diario de Noticias (in Spanish). Pamplona. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
9. "Zapatero ya sabe si se presentará a los comicios de 2012 pero sólo una persona del partido conoce su decisión". El Correo (in Spanish). Madrid. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
10. Toribio, Beatriz (18 February 2011). "José Blanco, el sucesor en la sombra". La Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2022.
11. "Bono asegura que Zapatero le propuso sucederle como candidato a la Presidencia". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Agencias. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
12. Gorriarán, Ramón (26 November 2011). "El PSOE llega fragmentado al comité federal que convocará su 38 Congreso". Diario Sur (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
13. Garat, Ketty (25 November 2011). "El PSOE se prepara para su primera batalla tras el desastre electoral". Diario Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2022.
14. Toribio, Beatriz (2 April 2011). "Zapatero se va: anuncia que no se presentará a la reelección en 2012". La Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2022.
15. López Alba, Gonzalo (26 November 2011). "El PSOE repetirá el modelo de congreso que aupó a Zapatero". Público (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2022.
16. Pascual Bueno, Ernesto M. (2016). Selección de Líderes y Candidatos a la Presidencia del Gobierno (1976-2016). "El jardín secreto del PSOE" (PDF) (PhD) (in Spanish). Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. p. 149. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
17. "Rubalcaba y Chacón consiguen los avales para optar a la secretaría general del PSOE". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 8 January 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
18. "PSOE.- Los equipos de Chacón y Rubalcaba entregan el máximo de avales, el 30 por ciento cada uno" (in Spanish). Madrid: Europa Press. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
19. "Atribución de delegados del PSOE según los propios candidatos". El País (in Spanish). 3 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
20. Ríos, Pere; Planelles, Manuel (3 February 2012). "Unidos en la discrepancia". El País (in Spanish). Seville. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
21. Merino, Juan Carlos (23 January 2012). "La igualdad entre Rubalcaba y Chacón ahonda la división territorial del PSOE". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2021.
22. "Rubalcaba dice aventajar a Chacón en hasta 150 delegados". Expansión (in Spanish). EFE. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
23. Garea, Fernando (20 January 2012). "La incertidumbre se apodera del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
24. Benito, Roberto; Sánchez, Manuel (4 February 2012). "Rubalcaba, nuevo líder del PSOE por 22 votos". El Mundo (in Spanish). Seville. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
25. "La ejecutiva de Rubalcaba recibe el respaldo del 80,4% de los delegados". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
26. "Partido Socialista Obrero Español, Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, P.Socialista de Euskadi E.E., Partido Socialista Popular, PSOE histórico". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2021.