Progressive Politics in the Age of Polarization and Economic Crisis Current Situation and Prospects of the Spanish PSOE CARMEN DE PAZ NIEVES/ GUILLERMO MORENO RODRIGUEZ SPANISH SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY (PARTIDO SOCIALISTA OBRERO ESPAÑOL, PSOE) Official website: www.psoe.es Secretary General: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Founded: May 2, 1879 by Pablo Iglesias SI and PES Membership: SI: since 1951; PES: since 1974 Party membership: 2008: 592,405(224,883 activists/ fee-payers and 367,572 sympathizers) Electoral resonance parliamentary elections: 2008: 43.87% of the votes(48.29% of seats), in government 2004: 43.3% of the votes(46.85% of seats), in government 2000: 34.1% of the votes(35.7% of seats), in opposition Electoral resonance European elections: 2009: PSOE 21 seats(38.51%), PP 23 seats(43.23%) 2004: PSOE 25 seats(43.46%), PP 24 seats(41.21%) 1999: PSOE 24 seats(35.33%), PP 27 seats(39.74%) Government participation: Since 2008: in government; head of government: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 2004–2008: in government; head of government: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 2000–2004: in opposition ipg 4/2010 de Paz Nieves/Moreno Rodriguez, Spain 65