Spain's prime minister calls early elections as pressure mounts over housing crisis — SkimNews
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- Pedro Sánchez called snap elections for Nov. 29 after right-wing opposition parties joined forces to defeat two emergency housing decrees in Parliament last week, sparking immediate speculation he would move the vote up.
- The defeated decrees targeted evictions and real estate speculation and were proposed after protests erupted over the televised eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid last month.
- Sánchez, 54, has been prime minister since 2018 and leads a minority coalition with left-wing party Sumar since 2023, making him one of Europe's longest-serving leaders and presiding over one of the developed world's fastest-growing economies.
- Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whose party already holds the most seats in Parliament, framed the contest as "Spain beating Sánchez" and is expected to campaign on corruption allegations.
- The source also notes Sánchez is hemmed in by legal cases involving his Socialist party, his wife, and his brother — all of whom deny wrongdoing — as well as a lingering humanitarian crisis in Ceuta after tens of thousands of Moroccans crossed into the North African territory this summer.
- Political scientist Oriol Bartomeus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona said Sánchez chose this moment because housing frames the debate in terms favorable to his party, enabling a classic left-versus-right campaign.
Why it matters: Sánchez is converting a legislative loss into a campaign weapon. With the PP holding the most parliamentary seats but likely defined by corruption allegations, the Nov. 29 vote will test whether housing anger outweighs the scandal narrative in a country whose economy has been one of the developed world's fastest-growing. The formal dissolution requires Cabinet approval, convened for later Monday.
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