Spanish PM Sánchez calls snap election for 29 November

Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday that Spain will hold an early general election on 29 November, ending his minority government's attempts to pass housing reform through a parliament that has repeatedly blocked it.

The decision followed parliament's rejection of two decree laws intended to protect tenants in the rental market. A nationwide protest movement had built around the eviction of an 87-year-old woman who could no longer afford her rent, and Sánchez cited the need for "a broader progressive majority" to overcome what he called "the resistance of the elites."

Spain was not scheduled to go to the polls until summer 2027. Sánchez's coalition, comprising his Socialist party and the Sumar alliance, holds no majority and has faced compounding difficulties including corruption scandals and public pressure on immigration and the cost of living.

Opinion polls give the conservative People's Party the largest share of seats but short of a majority, with any government likely requiring Vox's support. People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo responded to the announcement with a single sentence: "At last, Spaniards will be able to decide."