Spearhead of the new unsteady democratic shift and born of UCD

In 1976, months after the death of Francisco Franco, King Juan Carlos chose Suarez in order to take over from the dictator’s last prime minister and carry out free elections. Considering the amount of leftists in the government, this decision wasn't received with a warm welcome mainly because Suárez had held various Cabinet posts under Franco, it is worth mentioning that he was  minister of the National Movement – the only legal political organization during the dictatorship.

Suarez started setting measures up inviting Socialist leader Felipe González and Santiago Carrillo, who was the mainstay of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), both of them exiled, to join this hard battle against the disowned military and far-right.

Through this rough Political Reform Law of 1976, Suárez held its first free elections in four decades and legalized the unions. He set his own coalition up, named Democratic Center Union (UCD), and in 1977 became the first elected prime minister by population following the Franco dictatorship, capturing more than 34 percent of the vote, Gonzalez and his Socialists came in second with 29 percent support.