Spanish PM Sánchez calls early election after housing protests

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced an early election for November 29th following his minority government's repeated failures to pass legislation targeting the nation's housing crisis. The declaration came after parliament rejected two decree laws intended to shield renters from soaring rental costs. The eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home due to an exorbitant rent hike has sparked widespread protests across the country, heightening pressure for housing reform.

In a televised address on Monday, Sánchez stated that to enact reforms, he requires a "broader progressive majority" capable of surmounting the "resistance of the elites." Housing is not the sole issue plaguing Sánchez's leadership, as his Socialist party has been embroiled in a string of corruption scandals and is facing scrutiny over cost-of-living concerns and immigration matters.

The left-wing coalition government, comprising Sánchez's Socialist party and the junior partner Sumar alliance, lacks a parliamentary majority.

The Socialist party, led by Sánchez since June 2018, finished second in the last election in 2023, with the conservative People's Party securing the most seats. However, the latter fell short of a majority and would likely need the backing of the hard-right Vox party to form a government. The People's Party leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, welcomed the early election, stating that it would allow Spanish voters to choose between "decline or change, lies or change, incompetence or change, division or change, corruption or change."

Protesters in recent months, including the 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, have drawn national attention to the dire housing situation in Spain, with the elderly woman's forced eviction serving as a symbol of the crisis.