Spain’s PM calls snap election as housing price protests grow - Semafor

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election next month after parliament rejected his proposed plan to tame public anger about the country’s housing crisis.

A temporary eviction of an 87-year-old pensioner from her Madrid home has galvanized demonstrations that have spread across Spain. Soaring property prices have upended European politics from Portugal to Germany, with the issue rising to the top of voter worries in several countries as prices race ahead of incomes.

Home ownership in the EU declined last year, data showed. Experts say the continent should take a page from the US: “If Europeans want to meet their housing needs, they will probably have to revisit their zoning systems, just like Americans,” Works in Progress wrote.