Politics of Spain democracy period, when it officially renounced Marxism, under the leadership of Felipe González. It played a key role during the transition and the Constituent Assembly that wrote the Spanish current constitution. It governed Spain from 1982 to 1996 under the prime ministership of Felipe González, during which time the party adopted a socio-liberal economic policy. It governed again from 2004 to 2011 under the prime ministership of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The People's Party (PP) is a conservative centre-right party that took its current name in 1989, replacing the previous People's Alliance, a more conservative party founded in 1976 by
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero the opinion polls elaborated at the time foreseen a defeat for Zapatero, as they always predicted a new victory for the People's Party. The campaign for the General Election started a fortnight before 14 March 2004. Polls favoured the People's Party, with some polls predicting a possible repeat of their absolute majority. Previously, on 8 January 2004, Zapatero had created a Committee of Notables composed of 10 highly qualified experts with considerable political weight. Its mission was to help him to become prime minister. Among its members: José Bono (his ex-rival for the Secretaryship of the party and later appointed