On Spain, NATO and Democracy

Abstract

Spain became the sixteenth member of NATO on 30 May 1982. It is likely to be the last to join the organisation for many years. The present Socialist government in Spain came to office committed to holding a national referendum on the issue of Spain’s continued membership in the alliance. This commitment was made when the Spanish Workers’ Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol, PSOE) was in opposition and the centrist government of the Union de Centro Democratico (UCD), headed by Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, decided to carry through a policy that had been in the party’s political platform since its inception in 1977. The PSOE bitterly opposed Sr Calvo-Sotelo’s decision, as it had done during former President Adolfo Suarez’s term in office, and contended that such a crucial issue as Spain’s membership in NATO was a matter that called for broad political consensus. The Socialists nonetheless refused to participate in any serious discussions on the NATO issue during this period, on the grounds that more pressing problems needed to be tackled first. Sr Suarez did not challenge the PSOE on this issue during his tenure as Prime Minister because he believed that Spain needed a strong union of democratic forces to resist the threatening pressure of extreme right-wing elements within Spain.