Madrid, Spain – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for Nov. 29 after his minority government suffered a major parliamentary defeat over measures aimed at addressing the country’s housing crisis.
Sánchez announced the election in a televised address Monday following days of escalating protests.
Parliament rejected two government decrees on housing Friday after Sánchez failed to secure support from several opposition parties.
The measures were opposed by the conservative People’s Party and the right-wing Vox party.
Junts per Catalunya, a Catalan separatist party that previously supported Sánchez’s government, also voted against the measures. Its seven votes proved decisive in defeating the decrees.
Junts helped Sánchez secure enough parliamentary support to remain prime minister following Spain’s July 2023 election.
The party later withdrew its support and joined the opposition, leaving Sánchez without a reliable majority in the 350-seat parliament.
His minority government has since struggled to advance its legislative agenda.
Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party has governed Spain since 2018.
The upcoming election will pit the Socialists against an opposition led by the People’s Party as Sánchez seeks to retain power amid political pressure over corruption cases linked to his government and a migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave.
With reports from Bernama News Agency
