Spain's prime minister calls snap election aiming to seize momentum over housing crisis
MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday announced an early general election, seeking to seize momentum from housing protests that have roiled the country and frame the vote around issues that are favorable to his Socialist party.
The election is scheduled for Nov. 29, and will come roughly eight months earlier than originally planned.
Spaniards have staged repeated protests in cities across the country in recent weeks, demanding action on the entrenched housing crisis amid outrage over the widely publicized eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid last month.
Sánchez’s government suffered a bruising legislative defeat last week when right-wing opposition parties voted down emergency decrees introduced by his government to address evictions and real estate speculation. The setback sparked wide speculation that Sánchez would move forward the general election and use the momentum against his right-wing opponents.
If Sánchez's gamble backfires, it could pave the way for a right-wing coalition of conservatives and the far-right Vox party, bringing an end to one of Europe's most prominent progressive governments and vocal critics of the Trump administration.
In an address to the nation, Sánchez argued that a broader progressive coalition in Parliament would allow Spain to tackle its biggest challenges.
“The time has come for the Spanish people to decide what future you want for yourselves and for your country,” Sánchez said.
“Whether you wish to join that far-right wave — which rolls back progress wherever it governs — or whether you want Spain to remain a bastion of openness, social justice, and environmental responsibility. Whether you want our country to move backward or continue moving forward,” he said.
Sánchez, 54, has been prime minister since 2018, making him one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders.
He has emerged as a leading progressive voice internationally through his defense of migration, his support for Palestinians and his criticism of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. He has also defended multilateral institutions and called for regulation of artificial intelligence, speaking out against “tech oligarchs.”
Under his leadership, Spain has had one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world in recent years.
But a series of legal cases involving his party as well as his wife and his brother have damaged the prime minister's standing. His wife and brother deny wrongdoing.
He has also struggled to account for this summer’s border crossing by tens of thousands of mostly Moroccans into Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta, where a humanitarian crisis remains two months after the initial border crossing.
He has led a coalition minority government along with the left-wing junior partner Sumar since 2023. But his reliance on several smaller parties to get anything done has hamstrung his legislative ability.
Throughout his political career, Sánchez has earned a reputation as a political escape artist capable of winning elections he appeared set to lose.
Speculation around whether he would announce snap elections centered on the momentum that his party may now have around housing and public services, while the opposition Popular Party — which holds the most seats in Parliament already — is likely to define the contest around corruption and the ruling government's mismanagement of the Ceuta crisis.
Opinion polls suggest the Popular Party and Vox could together win enough support to oust Sánchez. It remains unclear how strongly housing will motivate voters on either side.
“Sánchez is choosing this moment because it is arguably the best time to do so, given that the issue of housing frames the electoral conflict or debate in terms that are highly favorable to (his party's) position,” said Oriol Bartomeus, a political-science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
“Sánchez can frame the election — or has realized he can frame it — in very classic left-versus-right terms,” Bartomeus said.
Sánchez will face Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who aims to take control of the government.
“At last, the Spanish people will decide,” Feijóo said on Monday after the election announcement. “These are not elections like previous ones in our democracy. This is about Spain defeating Sánchez and what he represents,” he said.
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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
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