Spain’s Sánchez calls snap election as housing crisis reshapes campaign

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap parliamentary election for 29 November. The announcement followed the government’s failure to pass a package intended to protect tenants.

Lawmakers narrowly rejected the measures on Friday. They included provisions to prevent evictions, improve rental-contract conditions and restrict investors’ purchases of residential property; right-wing parties voted against them, confirming that Sánchez’s coalition no longer had a parliamentary majority.

Housing has become one of Spaniards’ leading concerns, according to polls. Around 50 marches calling for stronger tenant protections took place across Spain on Saturday.

Sánchez makes housing his pitch

During the campaign, Sánchez can argue that the conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox opposed his government’s housing proposals. Right-wing parties generally reject direct intervention in the housing market, warning that it can have counterproductive effects.

On Monday, Sánchez urged supporters to mobilise for a much larger progressive majority. The housing issue also gives his government a campaign focus separate from its other political difficulties.

Scandals and the Ceuta crisis

Sánchez’s Socialist Party has been weakened by corruption cases involving former senior figures Santos Cerdán and José Luis Ábalos. Former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero faces accusations of financially benefiting from an airline bailout; he has denied wrongdoing.

Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, is due to stand trial over allegations involving misuse of funds and influence peddling. Gómez and Sánchez both strongly deny the accusations.

The government has also struggled with the consequences of more than 70,000 migrants arriving in Ceuta in July. Most later returned across the border to Morocco, but the episode has remained a political and logistical problem for the administration.

Socialists trail in polling

Sánchez had previously said he would serve out the legislature and wait until next summer before calling an election. His government, however, appeared increasingly unlikely to last that long while retaining parliamentary support.

Polls show the Socialists behind the People’s Party. Housing may help Sánchez mobilise voters on the left, but remaining in power after the election will be one of the biggest challenges of his political career.