Premiership of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

The governments of Rodríguez Zapatero (2004–2011) mark the fourth period of the reign of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. The nearly eight years during which José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero governed Spain—marking the second socialist government in the monarchy, after the governments of Felipe González (1982–1996)—encompassed two very different legislative terms. "The first term was marked by major political debates on civil and social rights, the territorial model, negotiations with ETA, and historical memory, while the second term was dominated by the economic crisis, which wiped out all of the government's projects. Zapatero's actions were also very different in each case. In his first term, he took on enormous political risks, was bold and original in many of his initiatives, and as a result received overwhelming support among left-wing citizens in 2008. In his second term, Zapatero was behind the times...". Thus, according to political scientist Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca, the first term (2004–2008) were "years of change" and the second (2008–2011) "years of crisis."