Spain’s PM Sánchez calls early election for 29 November after housing defeats

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a general election for 29 November, although Spain was not due to vote until the summer of 2027 at the latest.

The announcement came after parliament rejected two government decrees aimed at protecting tenants. Sánchez leads a minority coalition made up of the Socialist Party and the Sumar alliance.

Protests after 87-year-old’s eviction

The latest anger followed the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid apartment, where she had lived for more than 70 years. Her rent rose from €500 to €2,650 before being reduced to €1,650 — still €300 above her monthly pension.

Abascal was carried from the property on a stretcher on 23 September and later admitted to hospital. Her lawyer has said she will be able to return home.

Tens of thousands of people protested in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and other cities on Saturday, demanding stronger tenant protections.

Parliament rejects housing decrees

The first decree proposed suspending evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, extending rental agreements, increasing taxes on tourist apartments and restricting purchases of residential property by so-called “vulture funds”.

The second included automatic renewal of rental contracts, a major demand from left-wing groups and the tenants’ organisation Sindicato de Inquilinas. The political right argued that intervention in the housing market would reduce rental supply and push prices higher.

In a televised address, Sánchez said he needed “a broader progressive majority” to overcome what he called resistance from the elites. He acknowledged that his government had not solved all the problems involving inequality, public services and access to housing.

Conservatives lead election expectations

People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said Spaniards would finally be able to decide. Most opinion polls suggest the conservatives will become the largest party, although they would likely need support from the hard-right Vox party to form a government.

Sánchez’s party finished second in the 2023 election. He remained prime minister after reaching agreements with left-wing parties and securing support from Catalan and Basque nationalist and pro-independence groups.

The election announcement follows corruption-related controversies, an investigation involving Sánchez’s wife Begoña Gómez, a police raid on Socialist Party headquarters and the conviction of former transport minister José Luis Ábalos. Sánchez has also faced scrutiny over the migration crisis in Ceuta.