Pedro Sánchez Dissolves Spain’s Cortes, Calls Snap Elections For November 29 Over Housing Measures

Snap election after housing defeat

Pedro Sánchez dissolved Spain’s Cortes and called snap general elections for November 29 after Parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government. Sánchez told viewers, “We need to mobilise and win a much larger progressive majority in Parliament, one that will allow us to overcome vested interests, deliver new social advances and continue transforming Spain.”

Sánchez also said, “We need to renew people’s support,” as he announced the vote on Monday. The BBC said Sánchez ordered general elections to be held on November 29 after the failure in Congress of his decrees to tackle the housing crisis in Spain.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraBBC

Opposition and street protests

Alberto Núñez Feijóo urged voters to bring the Partido Popular to power, saying, “The question I put to voters is whether they want four more years of what we’ve been living through, or whether they want to give change a chance.”

Santiago Abascal said on Antena 3’s Espejo Público program that the election would be “elections that, despite what polls say, will be very uncertain.”

Reuters polled Manuela Feria in Madrid, and she said, “We need the elections now, for sure. We have to get rid of him now, that’s my opinion, everything is going really badly,”.

Alicia del Río, a Madrid tenants’ union spokesperson, said, “Today begins a campaign that will be deeply shaped by housing; it will be the central issue,” as protesters pressed for reforms after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraBBC

What is at stake

Sánchez framed the election as a chance to secure a “much broader, progressive majority” in Parliament to carry out in-depth reforms, including measures to protect tenants. The BBC said the housing measures presented on Friday came after public anger over the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal’s home, after she could not face a sharp increase in rent.

The BFM said the measures proposed by Sánchez’s government included suspending evictions of vulnerable people until 2030, measures against so-called “vulture” funds, and the automatic renewal of lease contracts. Brussels Signal said the legislature ended without a budget of its own, with the 2023 accounts rolled over three times, and it added that the Koldo case had reached former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and former PSOE organisation secretary Santos Cerdán.

Reporting for this sectionBFMBrussels Signal