Spain's Sanchez Calls Snap Election for Nov. 29 Amid Housing Crisis

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday a snap general election for November 29, nine months ahead of schedule. The decision follows parliament's rejection last Friday of two government decrees aimed at addressing a severe housing crisis that has sparked nationwide protests.

Sanchez acknowledged his administration had made mistakes and failed to fulfill all campaign promises. He framed the vote as a choice between a progressive majority and a right-wing coalition led by the People's Party (PP) with support from the far-right Vox party.

“You must decide whether to join the far-right wave that drives regression wherever it governs, or whether you want Spain to remain a bastion of openness, social justice, and environmental responsibility.”

Opinion polls consistently place the PP ahead with roughly 34% support compared to the Socialists' 26%, while Vox is projected around 18%. A PP-Vox alliance would bring a far-right party into central government for the first time since the return of democracy.

The housing crisis escalated after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid apartment of seven decades. Her rent had been hiked from 500 to 2,650 euros, later reduced to 1,650 euros — still 300 euros above her monthly pension.

PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo welcomed the election as a referendum on Sanchez's eight-year tenure. He argued the country needs a "deep change" to address unbearable living costs, inaccessible housing, and uncontrolled immigration.

Sanchez met with King Felipe VI before the announcement to initiate the constitutional dissolution process. The November 29 date is the earliest legally permissible under the electoral calendar.

The prime minister has a history of surviving political crises through fragile coalitions, but he now faces an electorate where the right holds a structural polling advantage.