Spain’s early general election on 20 November marked a turning point in the political landscape. The Socialists were trounced by the conservative Popular Party (PP), in their worst-ever electoral defeat since the country returned to democracy after the death of General Franco in 1975, and the PP achieved its best-ever result.

IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook, 2012
http://www.iemed.org/observatori-en/arees-danalisi/documents/anuari/med.2012/elections-in-spain-a-political-change-in-the-framework-of-a-major-international-crisis