1998 PSOE prime ministerial primary

A primary election was held on Friday, 24 April 1998, to elect the prime ministerial nominee of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) for the 2000 Spanish general election.

Following the 1997 PSOE congress, former several times minister Joaquín Almunia became new party leader succeeding former prime minister Felipe González, who surprisingly announced during the congress' opening that he would not be running for re-election as PSOE secretary-general. González's succession process was perceived as rushed and the result of a pact between party elites, prompting Almunia to propose a primary election as a way to legitimize his leadership. Former public works minister Josep Borrell, who for years had been the subject of speculation as one of González's possible successors, also announced his run in the primary.

The election resulted in the party's grassroots unexpectedly backing Borrell over Almunia, but the latter remained as secretary-general in order to prevent an extraordinary party congress. This situation prompted a "bicephaly" ( duumvirate) which would see both Borrell and Almunia clashing for months on their roles and the party's platform. Borrell would withdraw in May 1999 after it was unveiled that two former aides were involved in a judicial investigation for tax fraud, leaving a vacancy that resulted in Almunia being proclaimed as prime ministerial candidate without opposition. Almunia would went on to lose the 2000 general election, in which José María Aznar's People's Party (PP) would secure an absolute majority of seats.