European elections and political reconfigurations in Spain: from the « anti-establishment » cycle to the return of the left–right divide (2014–2024)

This article examines the 2024 European elections in Spain to trace a decade of political change (2014–2024). It argues that the elections mark the end of the “anti-establishment” cycle opened by Podemos’ rise in 2014 and the return of a lasting left–right polarization. Using a mixed methodological approach, the study shows how Spanish politics has realigned around traditional ideological divides. The 2024 results confirm a multiparty system structured by two dominant blocs led by the PP and PSOE, while underlining the resilience of social democracy, the fragmentation/decline of the radical left, the disappearance of the center-right, and the fragmentation/rightward shift of the conservative camp.