Spain PM Sánchez calls early election after housing protests
Sánchez says Spain will head to the polls on 29 November after recent defeats on measures aimed at addressing the country's housing crisis.
Spain PM Sánchez calls early election after housing protests
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced an early election for 29 November after recent setbacks on legislation intended to tackle the country’s housing crisis.
Talk of a snap vote had intensified over the weekend after parliament turned down two decree laws introduced by the government to protect tenants in the rental market.
The forced eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home after she could no longer afford a steep rent increase has triggered nationwide protests and added pressure for housing reform.
In a televised speech on Monday, Sánchez said there was a need to "renew and broaden people's support" for the government.
He added that, to drive reforms forward, "we need the support of the people" and "a broader progressive majority" that can "overcome the resistance of the elites".
Sánchez's left-wing coalition government consists of his governing Socialist party and junior partner the Sumar alliance, and it lacks a parliamentary majority.
Spain was not scheduled to hold a general election until the summer of 2027 at the latest.
Sánchez has served as prime minister since June 2018. His Socialist party came second in the last election, in 2023.
Although the conservative People's Party won the most seats, it did not secure a majority.
Sánchez stayed in office after reaching deals with left-wing parties and obtaining backing from Catalan and Basque nationalist and pro-independence groups.
Most opinion polls indicate the conservatives are likely to become the largest party in the next election. Even so, they would probably need support from the hard-right Vox party to form a government.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people marched in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, demanding stronger protections for tenants.
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, became a symbol of Spain's housing crisis when she was forcibly evicted from her Madrid home on 23 September.
A legal glitch enabled her landlord to increase her rent from €500 (£428; $572) to €2,650. It was later reduced to €1,650 - still €300 above her monthly pension.
She was taken from her apartment of more than 70 years on a stretcher and later admitted to hospital.
Her lawyer has since said she will be able to return to her home, but the incident has sparked widespread anger over housing.
The left-wing coalition government responded with two decree-laws in an attempt to ease the protests.
The first included the suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year extension of rental leases due to expire before 2028, tax rises for tourist apartments, and a restriction on the purchase of residential properties by what the government calls "vulture funds".
The second decree was more contentious, because it included the automatic renewal of rental contracts, a major demand of many on the left and the tenants' organisation Sindicato de Inquilinas.
The Spanish prime minister currently does not command a congressional majority.