Spain’s Sánchez Calls Early General Election for 29 November
MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday, 5 October, that early general elections will be held on 29 November, instead of summer 2027 as scheduled. The decision followed a parliamentary defeat on Friday, 2 October, of the government’s measures to tackle the housing crisis.Nationwide protests over soaring housing costs continue. The government had…
MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday, 5 October, that early general elections will be held on 29 November, instead of summer 2027 as scheduled. The decision followed a parliamentary defeat on Friday, 2 October, of the government’s measures to tackle the housing crisis.
Nationwide protests over soaring housing costs continue. The government had proposed measures including automatic renewal of rental contracts and a ban on evicting vulnerable tenants. The need for them was underlined when an 87-year-old woman was evicted for failing to pay a sudden rent increase.
Announcing the vote, Sánchez said the government needed to “renew and broaden” public support and that Spain must ensure parliament gives the government a much broader progressive majority. He highlighted his coalition’s record, saying the economy is growing faster than other major European economies, and described Spain as “an example for a world of peace, women’s rights and prosperity.” He also referred to crises in recent years, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East war.
Spain has been operating under the 2023 budget, the last national budget passed by Sánchez’s government. In power for nearly eight years, Sánchez also faces pressure from corruption scandals involving people close to him, including his wife and senior figures in his Socialist Party, and sharp criticism over his handling of the crisis in the North African enclave of Ceuta, where thousands of migrants entered from Morocco in late July.
