Pedro Sanchez calls early Spain election after housing protests and Parliament defeat

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced early general elections for November 29, around eight months ahead of schedule, after weeks of housing protests and growing pressure on his government. Sanchez is seeking to turn the vote into a contest centred on affordability and public services after suffering a major legislative setback in Parliament.

The move comes at a politically risky moment for Sanchez. If it backfires, it could open the way for a right-wing coalition of the conservatives and the far-right Vox party, ending one of Europe’s most prominent progressive governments. The formal dissolution of Parliament still needs Cabinet approval, and Sanchez called a Cabinet meeting for later on Monday.

In recent weeks, protests have been held in cities across Spain as people demanded action on the country’s long-running housing crisis. Public anger grew after the widely reported eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid last month. Sanchez’s government then suffered a bruising defeat last week when right-wing opposition parties voted down two emergency decrees that included measures to reduce evictions and curb real estate speculation. The defeat triggered widespread speculation that he would bring forward a national election that had otherwise been due next year.

In an address to the nation, Sanchez said a broader progressive coalition in Parliament would help Spain deal with its biggest challenges. “The time has come, therefore, for the Spanish people to decide what future you want for yourselves and for your country,” he 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.

Sanchez, 54, has been Spain’s prime minister since 2018 and is one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders. He has emerged as a leading international progressive voice through his public defence of migration, his diplomatic efforts in support of Palestinians, and his criticism of the US and Israeli war against Iran. He has also presided over one of the fastest-growing economies in the developed world in recent years. But at home, he has faced 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 explain the summer crossing of tens of thousands of mostly Moroccans into Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta, where a humanitarian crisis continues two months after the initial influx.

Since 2023, Sanchez has led a minority coalition government with the left-wing junior partner Sumar, but his dependence on several smaller parties has limited his ability to pass legislation. Even so, he has built a reputation as a political escape artist who can win elections he appears set to lose. Much of the speculation over a snap poll centred on whether his party could build on the present focus on housing and public services, while the opposition Popular Party, which already holds the most seats in Parliament, is expected to campaign on corruption and what it calls the government’s mismanagement of the Ceuta crisis.

Oriol Bartomeus, a political science professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said the timing suited Sanchez. “Sanchez 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 favourable to (his party’s) position,” Bartomeus said. “Sanchez can frame the election - or has realised he can frame it - in very classic left-versus-right terms,” he said.

Sanchez will face Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is seeking to take control of the government. Reacting to the announcement, Feijoo said, “At last, the Spanish people will decide.” He added, “These are not elections like previous ones in our democracy. This is about Spain defeating Sanchez and what he represents.” The election now sets up a high-stakes contest shaped by anger over housing, pressure on the government, and a wider battle over Spain’s political direction.