Spain’s Socialist Party’s contrast campaign: A new playbook for European politics?

As avid followers of politics – a trait that reading Party Party surely confirms-  we have an irresistible urge to find that one secret strategy, that single silver bullet that can explain what was behind a victory or a defeat in an election. But let’s face it, sometimes we get a little carried away. We tend to blow the importance of certain factors way out of proportion, giving them more credit than they deserve.

Take, for instance, the infamous case of Cambridge Analytica (CA), whose complex tools were credited with extraordinary powers in both the 2016 US election and in the Brexit referendum. Some people even thought that without CA, we wouldn’t have had Trump in the White House, and the UK would still be part of the EU. But if you ask those in the know, they’d probably tell you that CA was more master of PR than master of the universe.

Now, let’s dive into the recent election in Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pulled off a remarkable comeback, or “remontada”. He defied the odds, scoring over a million extra votes in just a few months. I had the pleasure of chatting with some of the people behind the scenes at the Spanish Socialist Party’s (PSOE) headquarters. One of the masterminds of Sánchez’s campaign, Aleix Sanmartin, is credited with the so-called “contrast” or “negative” marketing strategy that played a pivotal role in Sánchez’s journey to the Moncloa Palace, with the support of an unusual kingmaker.

But before we unravel this strategy, let’s remember not to oversimplify the intricate workings of the Spanish voters’ minds or the complexities of the electoral system. We won’t pretend to have all the answers, but let’s dive into this intriguing strategy and how it seemed to work in the short term.