Всеобщие выборы в Испании 1982 года

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The 1982 Spanish general election was held on Thursday, 28 October 1982, to elect the 2nd Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 254 seats in the Senate. The election was called several months ahead of schedule on 27 August 1982, by the then Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, amid poor opinion poll ratings and severe infighting within his party, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), that had seen the splits of former prime minister Adolfo Suárez's Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), Óscar Alzaga's People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Democratic Action Party (PAD) of former minister Francisco Fernández Ordóñez. The closing legislature had been characterized by political instability and the effects of an economic downturn resulting from the 1979 oil crisis: Suárez himself had resigned the premiership in January 1981 as a result of the ongoing UCD crisis, a military coup d'etat attempt had been thwarted during Calvo Sotelo's investiture on 23 February 1981, and the UCD had become increasingly isolated during the administrative set up of the so called "state of the autonomies", both parliamentarily—a result of its minority status and continuous defections—and politically, having been routed in every regional election held since 1979: the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia. Calvo Sotelo himself had chosen not to run for re election. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) led by Felipe González won the largest landslide victory in a Spanish democratic election, with 48.1% of the vote and a strong majority of 202 out of 350 seats in the Congress, by running a mainstream modern social democratic campaign and appealing to political change. The UCD, on the other hand, was decimated, losing 93% of its 1979 seats and roughly 80% of its 1979 vote—still the worst defeat that a sitting government has suffered since the restoration of democracy, and one of the worst defeats ever suffered by a governing party in the Western world. The right wing People's Alliance (AP), led into the election by former Francoist minister Manuel Fraga, benefitted greatly from the UCD's losses, becoming the main opposition party to the Socialists with slightly over 100 seats and 26.4% of the vote. Adolfo Suárez's CDS had a modest entry into the Congress with 2 seats and 2.9% of the vote, while the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) vote plummeted, suffering from tactical voting to the PSOE. Turnout remains, at 79.97%, the highest ever recorded in a general election held in Spain to date. The 1982 election was the last general election to be held on a day other than Sunday. González took office on 2 December, heading the first government in 43 years in which none of its members had served under Francoism.

The Andalusian election debacle paved the way for the party's final decomposition in the run up to the next general election. Calvo Sotelo announced in July 1982 his intention not to run as his party's main candidate for the premiership and resigned from the UCD presidency, but remained as Prime Minister. Replacing him as party candidate and leader was Landelino Lavilla, elected with a strong internal opposition (with the support of only 67% despite being the only party candidate). Concurrently, the UCD's continuous splits in the Congress (with its parliamentary group reduced to 150 out of 350) had, by the summer of 1982, deprived the party of a workable majority to govern until the end of the legislature in 1983, Bill proposals such as the Statutes of Autonomy of Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Castile and León and Extremadura or the 1983 budget, scheduled to be approved throughout the autumn, had to be delayed until after the election as a result. Adolfo Suárez, himself the UCD's founder, staged one of the most remarkable splits by founding the centrist Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and announcing his intention to run on its own in the next general election. Also splitting from UCD was the new christian democrat People's Democratic Party (PDP) of Óscar Alzaga, which would run in coalition with AP. Had the Cortes reopened in September after the holidays as it was initially scheduled, the UCD parliamentary group in the Congress would have been down to 124, even less than a hypothetical sum of the PSOE and PAD parties (128 seats). while talks for an eventual AP–PDP coalition were underway already before the Cortes' dissolution, being confirmed in early September. Initially confirmed was also the nationwide coalition between the UCD and the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) of Antonio Garrigues Walker under the UCD banner; the PDL having been founded in July amidst the internal crisis of UCD. However, the UCD–PDL alliance broke apart because of "technical differences" in the making up of electoral lists, with the PDL opting for not contesting the election. Some sectors within UCD had also tried to ally itself with Suárez's CDS with little success as a result of the latter's refusal, with the UCD's general reluctance against any electoral coalition in which it was not dominant causing new internal clashes within the party, as the belief of it heading towards election defeat increased. There were also voices within the party calling for a nationwide coalition with Manuel Fraga's AP, which was rejected by the party's leadership, although a coalition at the regional level between both parties for the Basque Country was confirmed on the basis of "exceptional circumstances" existing in the territory. People from the business and banking world, concerned about a hypothetical victory of the PSOE with an absolute majority, also voiced their support for an UCD–AP coalition, criticizing the centrists' rejection of such an agreement, while Manuel Fraga was confident in that "the natural majority [a hypothetical union of the Spanish centre right electorate] will be realized, either from above or from below". However, Lavilla wanted to distance himself and his party from the right and appeal to the centre of the political spectrum, viewing AP as too right wing for that purpose. During the first days of October, preparations for a coup d'etat attempt scheduled for 27 October (on Election Day's eve) were unveiled and foiled. The plan was to stage a number of violent actions against different personalities, to culminate later with a great explosion in a block of military houses in Madrid. This would be blamed on ETA and the inefficiency in the fight against terrorism as a means to justify a military takeover. The importance of the coup attempt was downplayed by the media in order to avoid raising social unrest, and it hardly affected the election campaign starting on 7 October. PSOE Vice Secretary General Alfonso Guerra, however, would state that the incorporation of the Army to democracy was to be one of the goals of a future PSOE government.

+ ← Summary of the 28 October 1982 Senate of Spain election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)1 27,954,856 47.60 +22.19 134 +66 People's Alliance–People's Democratic Party (AP–PDP)2 15,084,392 25.68 +17.89 54 +49 Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)3 4,017,007 6.84 –24.77 4 –113 Communist Party of Spain (PCE) 2,687,352 4.58 –7.85 0 –1 Communist Party of Spain (PCE)4 2,657,576 4.52 –7.91 0 –1 Canarian Assembly–Canarian Coordinator (AC–CC) 29,776 0.05 New 0 ±0 Catalonia in the Senate (CiU–ERC)5 2,503,525 4.26 +1.50 7 +4 Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 1,748,765 2.98 New 0 ±0 Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 1,171,730 2.00 +0.32 7 –1 Popular Unity (HB) 619,873 1.06 +0.13 0 –1 New Force (FN)6 344,645 0.59 –1.58 0 ±0 Basque Country Left–Left for Socialism (EE) 293,173 0.50 +0.08 0 ±0 Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) 292,496 0.50 –1.54 0 ±0 Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 277,291 0.47 New 0 ±0 Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC) 187,958 0.32 New 0 ±0 Socialist Party (PS)7 125,516 0.21 –0.15 0 ±0 Galician Nationalist Bloc–Galician Socialist Party (B–PSG)8 119,929 0.20 –0.54 0 ±0 United Extremadura (EU) 111,843 0.19 New 0 ±0 Spanish Solidarity (SE) 102,019 0.17 New 0 ±0 Spanish Vertex Ecological Development Revindication (VERDE) 92,452 0.16 New 0 ±0 Natural Culture (CN) 90,992 0.15 New 0 ±0 Left Nationalists (NE) 82,198 0.14 New 0 ±0 Galician Left (EG) 73,300 0.12 New 0 ±0 Canarian People's Union (UPC) 61,240 0.10 –0.13 0 ±0 Canarian Convergence (CC) 45,890 0.08 New 0 ±0 Valencian Nationalist Left (ENV–URV)9 41,778 0.07 –0.16 0 ±0 Communist Left (LCR–MC)10 38,441 0.07 –0.66 0 ±0 Falangist Movement of Spain (MFE) 34,856 0.06 –0.20 0 ±0 Agrarian Bloc Electoral Group (AEBA) 29,147 0.05 New 0 ±0 Socialist Party of Majorca–Nationalists of the Islands (PSM) 22,272 0.04 ±0.00 0 ±0 Independent (INDEP) 22,227 0.04 ±0.00 0 –1 Independent Spanish Phalanx (FEI) 21,840 0.04 New 0 ±0 Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) 17,191 0.03 New 0 ±0 Group of Independent Electors (ADEI) 17,009 0.03 –0.10 1 –2 Communist Unity Candidacy (CUC)11 16,940 0.03 –0.01 0 ±0 Independent Galician Electoral Group (AEGI) 16,149 0.03 New 0 ±0 Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) (PCE (m–l)) 15,770 0.03 New 0 ±0 Democratic Party of the People (PDEP) 14,939 0.03 New 0 ±0 Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 14,654 0.02 New 0 ±0 Independent National Party (PNI) 14,161 0.02 New 0 ±0 Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) 11,611 0.02 –0.06 0 ±0 Spanish Ruralist Party (PRE) 10,659 0.02 –0.06 0 ±0 Galician Independents and Migrants (IDG) 10,571 0.02 New 0 ±0 United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) 9,809 0.02 New 0 ±0 Republican Left (IR) 9,623 0.02 –0.39 0 ±0 Rainbow Electoral Group (Arcoiris) 7,910 0.01 New 0 ±0 Liberated Galiza (GC) 7,792 0.01 New 0 ±0 Communist Left Front (FIC) 7,626 0.01 New 0 ±0 Party of El Bierzo (PB) 7,409 0.01 New 0 ±0 Independent (INDEP) 7,356 0.01 New 0 ±0 Canarian Nationalist Party (PNC) 7,180 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0 Majorera Assembly (AM) 6,325 0.01 ±0.00 1 +1 Socialist Party of Aragon (PSAr)12 5,993 0.01 –0.09 0 ±0 Valencian People's Union (UPV) 5,431 0.01 New 0 ±0 Nationalist Party of Ceuta (PNCe) 4,644 0.01 New 0 ±0 Electors' Group (AE) 4,575 0.01 New 0 ±0 Menorcan Independent Candidacy (CIM) 4,259 0.01 New 0 ±0 Independent (INDEP) 3,788 0.01 New 0 ±0 Proverist Party (PPr) 1,016 0.00 ±0.00 0 ±0 Asturian Falange (FA) 643 0.00 New 0 ±0 Spanish Agrarian Party (PAE) 578 0.00 New 0 ±0 Regionalist Party of Castile and León (PRCL) 496 0.00 New 0 ±0 Canarian Social Democratic Association (ASDC) 16 0.00 New 0 ±0 United Canarian People (PCU) 0 0.00 New 0 ±0 Majorcan Left (EM) 0 0.00 New 0 ±0 Independent Progressive (PI) 0 0.00 New 0 ±0 Menorcan Progressive Candidacy (PSM–PSOE–PCIB–PTI) n/a n/a –0.02 0 –1 Blank ballots 171,830 1.78 +0.30 Total 58,732,956 208 ±0 Valid votes Invalid votes Votes cast / turnout Abstentions Registered voters 26,846,940 Sources

With a record high turnout of 79.97%, the Spanish political landscape underwent an electoral earthquake. The ruling UCD was devastated; it lost 157 seats and fell to 11, a 93.5% loss from 1979. In terms of votes, it went from 6.3 million down to 1.4 million, a loss of 4.9 million votes or 77.8% of its 1979 vote, and plunged to 6.8% of the share to the 34.8% it had won in 1979—a loss of 80.5% of its share. Of its 11 seats, 5 were obtained in Galicia, 3 in Castile and León, 2 in the Canary Islands and only 1 in Madrid, winning no seats in all other regions. Incumbent Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, which stood in second place in the Madrid list, lost his seat—the only time in recent Spanish history that a sitting Prime Minister seeking re election as MP was unseated. It was the worst defeat, both in absolute terms and in terms of percentage of seats lost, for a ruling party at the national level in Spain, and one of the worst defeats ever suffered by a governing party in any country at the time, rivaling only with the collapse of Christian Democracy at the 1994 Italian election or the Progressive Conservatives' downfall at the 1993 Canadian election. The PSOE swept the popular vote in nearly all regions of the country—only AP and PNV wins in Galicia and the Basque Country denied them a clean sweep of the entire national territory. They won a majority of seats in every region but Galicia, La Rioja and the Balearic Islands, and obtained an astounding 60% in Spain's most populous region, Andalusia—a feat never to happen again. In Catalonia it obtained a 23 point lead over the second most voted party, a result that would only be surpassed by the PSOE's own result in the 2008 election. Andalusia and Catalonia would become from that point onwards as the main strongholds of PSOE support, which was to remain the dominant political force in both regions in each general election until 2011. Overall, the PSOE won 202 seats—its best historical performance and the best performance of any party in a Spanish general election. This gave them an overwhelming majority in the Congress, nearly doubling the seat count of its immediate competitor. The PSOE was also the only party to win seats in every district, the first of only three times since the Spanish transition to democracy that this has happened—the other two being PP results in the 2000 and 2011 elections. The AP PDP coalition had a major breakthrough, gaining a substantial portion of UCD previous support, displacing it as the main party to the right of centre in Spain and becoming the country's main opposition party. Despite only topping the polls in Galicia, its results elsewhere where still considered impressive for a party that, in the 1979 election, had only obtained 6% of the vote and 9 seats. It obtained 107 seats—despite opinion polls predicting that it would be well below the 100 seat mark—and climbed up to 5.5 million votes. It did not win any seats, however, in the districts of Ceuta and Melilla, which essentially worked under a FPTP system. The AP UCD PDP coalition in the Basque Country won 2 seats, 1 each for Álava and Biscay, being left out from Gipuzkoa. It would also be the only one of three times that AP and its successor, the PP, would win a seat in the district of Girona. The PCE suffered from PSOE's growth, falling from 23 seats to 4—a loss of 82.6%—and losing 1.1 million votes to 850,000 —a loss of 60%. Furthermore, it fell to 4.02% of the share, from 10.8% in 1979. As a result of not reaching the required 5% threshold and 5 seats to obtain a parliamentary group in Congress of its own, the PCE was forced into the Mixed Group, with the fear of becoming an extraparliamentary party at the next election remaining for the entire legislature. On the other hand, nationalist parties such as PNV and CiU benefitted from the UCD's collapse and enlarged its political representation. CiU gained 4 seats for a total of 12, placing among the top two in Catalonia, a first in a general election since 1977.

The October 1982 general election led to a major reconfiguration of the Spanish political scene. While institutionally, the Spanish transition to democracy ended in December 1978 after the approval of the 1978 Constitution in referendum and its subsequent adoption, historically the transition is considered to have ended with the 1982 election. The threat of a military coup d'etat after the failed 23 F coup had effectively ended, after preparations for the 27 O coup attempt were foiled. The election's aftermath ensured a lasting political stability that would favour the implementation of reforms that would definitively settle democracy in Spain. Furthermore, the exceptionally high turnout (80%) was seen as a strong endorsement by the Spanish people on the democratic system, and the political earthquake resulting from the election was deemed as the Spaniards' desire to break up with the past and to look into the future, rallying behind the PSOE and the "for change" premises it had campaigned for. The UCD, the political party which had led the country into the transition from Francisco Franco's dictatorship into a fledgling democracy, was not only ousted from power, but almost entirely decimated in the election. From the 35% of the share and 168 seats it had obtained in 1979 it was reduced to a mere 7% and 11 seats. It had lost 4.9 million votes in its last three years in power (roughly 80% of its 1979 voter base) and was left as a third party with no ability to influence the government. As a result, the UCD, which had been in office since its inception in 1977 until December 1982, effectively ceased to exist as in February 1983, when its leadership decided to dissolve the party as it was unable to cope with the mounting debts. Its collapse was seen with time as the result of the voters' perception of it not acting with consistency, clarity and effectiveness, and because of the internal party division and infighting that plagued the UCD's final time in power. The PSOE won the election in a landslide with a large absolute majority of seats and roughly half (48.1%) of the vote share. With 202 out of the 350 seats at stake in the Congress and 134 out of the 208 electable seats in the Senate, it won roughly 60% of the seats in each chamber, a record result not surpassed ever since by any political party. Its 10,127,392 vote result, comprising 38% of the voting able electorate at the time, was not reached by any party until the 2000 general election held 18 years later, when the PP obtained 10,321,178 (however, as the voting able electorate was much larger in 2000, that result was not as lopsized in percentage terms as it was in 1982). For the next decade, the Socialists would dominate Spanish politics with no other party having a realistic chance of forming government, leading some commentators to suggest that Spain had moved to a dominant party system. Eventually, the PSOE would not be seriously challenged until 1993, when they were reduced to a minority government, remaining in power for another 3 years until 1996. To date, Felipe González' 1982–1996 stay in power (four terms comprising 14 years) remains the longest period of continuous government by a democratically elected PM, with governments ever since usually having shorter durations of 8 years (two terms). The People's Alliance became the major opposition party as a result of this election, having been a minor party in the 1977–1982 period. It replaced the UCD as the main non socialist party in Spain, and has maintained this position for most of the last four decades. However, despite its position as the main alternative to the PSOE, its perceived right wing stance, subsequent internal crises and leadership changes, as well as the PSOE's enduring popularity until the early 1990s, ensured the party would remain electorally stagnant throughout the decade. AP would also face the direct competition of Suárez's CDS in the 1986–1989 period, which for some time was even expected to surpass AP as the PSOE's main rival. The party's position would not improve until its relaunch as the People's Party in 1989 and the leadership of José María Aznar, which would eventually led to the establishment in 1993 of a two party system in Spain, and in the PP's rise to power in 1996.