Much Ado about Little: Continuity and Change in the European Union Policy of the Spanish Socialist Government (2004-8)

The European Union (EU) policy of the Zapatero government (2004-8) combined continuity with the Socialist policies of the 1990s with some new additions in the form of a commitment to domestic constitutional reform, including a reference to the EU in the Spanish constitution. The Socialists' EU policy also manifested important continuities with the prior Popular Party governments. The use of a referendum to ratify the EU constitution, though decided by the Socialist government, had a large domestic consensus and fitted easily with Zapatero's republican preferences. Even though change occurred, it is difficult to argue that it represented a second transition.