MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced early general elections on Monday, aiming to seize momentum from housing protests that have roiled the country and frame the vote around affordability issues.
The election is scheduled for November 29, and will come roughly eight months earlier than originally planned.
In recent weeks, Spaniards have demanded solutions from the government over the country's entrenched housing crisis, holding protests in cities across the country after public outrage grew 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 after right-wing opposition parties voted against two emergency decrees introduced by his government that included measures to reduce evictions and real estate speculation.
The setback sparked wide speculation that Sánchez would move up a national election that would have otherwise taken place next year — and use the momentum against his right-wing opponents.
If Sánchez's decision backfires, it would pave the way for a right-wing coalition with 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 Spaniards to tackle the biggest issues facing their country today.
“The time has come, therefore, 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 Spain’s prime minister since 2018, making him one of Europe’s longest-standing leaders.
He has become a leading international progressive leader thanks to his public defense of migration, his diplomatic efforts to defend Palestinians and his criticism of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
He has also enjoyed one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world in recent years.
But back home, the Spanish leader has been hemmed in by a series of legal cases involving his Socialist party as well as his wife and brother, who both 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 crisis.
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 call 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.
“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 professor of political science 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.
The Socialist leader 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 Monday after the snap election was announced. “These are not elections like previous ones in our democracy. This is about Spain defeating Sánchez and what he represents,” he said.
The formal dissolution of parliament will need to be approved by the Cabinet, which Sánchez has convened for later Monday.
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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
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