ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses opposition parties’ parliamentary behaviour in Spain from 1996 to 2015. Contrary to other countries, parties with low chances to govern behave responsible and are not more focused on control activities than mainstream parties. This is mainly explained by institutional factors, and more specifically variations in the type of government and multilevel governance dynamics and changes in the formal rules that regulate the introduction of initiatives in the Chamber. Overall, the Spanish case illustrates the importance of taking into consideration institutional factors, but the impact of the economic crisis on opposition parties’ behaviour demonstrates that contextual factors are also worthy of consideration.
