Prime minister gambles outrage over rising rents will help socialists
By Margherita Stancati and Marcos Garcia Rey
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for snap elections Monday, gambling that he can turn a housing crisis -- and anger at the opposition for blocking legislation to ease it -- into stronger support for his socialist party.
Sánchez, who has led a left-wing minority government since 2023, cast the election as a stark choice between securing a "broader progressive majority" in parliament and opening the door to Spain's most right-wing government since military dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975.
In a speech, Sánchez called on Spaniards to choose: "Whether you want to join that far-right wave, which reverses progress wherever it governs, or whether you want Spain to remain a stronghold of openness, social justice and environmental responsibility. Whether you want our country to move backward or keep moving forward."
The most recent polls suggest that elections, now set to take place on Nov. 29, would likely result in a right-wing coalition government between Spain's main conservative People's Party and the fiercely anti-immigration Vox party.
Sánchez has emerged as one of Europe's most prominent left-wing political leaders -- and the only one running a major European Union country -- at a time when the continent, including his own country, has been shifting to the right. Far-right parties now lead the polls in Germany and France.
The Spanish leader has also positioned himself as Europe's most outspoken critic of President Trump, denying the U.S. military permission to use joint bases on the Mediterranean coast for operations against Iran. Strong opposition to Israel's campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon has helped Spain's prime minister of eight years boost his flagging popularity in a country where most people sympathize more with the Palestinians -- but has also created diplomatic tensions with the White House.
Last month, he had a long breakfast with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Manhattan's Gracie Mansion, where the two leaders discussed the rising cost of living and their shared vision for addressing the issue: "You know that being a leftist means taking big shots," Sánchez told Mamdani in a short video.
The public outrage over housing costs in Spain was sparked by last month's televised eviction of an 87-year-old Madrid resident who inherited her parent's rent controls set during the Franco era. When an investment firm bought her building, she couldn't afford rent increases.
After weeks of protests, the government last week presented emergency measures aimed at increasing protections for tenants by making it easier for them to renew their leases and extending restrictions on evictions. The bills were rejected Friday.
Alongside housing, immigration has become a flashpoint in Spain after thousands of migrants crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco this summer. Sánchez, the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, faced criticism for his handling of the influx.
The People's Party, which won the most seats in the 2023 vote but failed to assemble a ruling coalition, has led the polls ever since. To secure a parliamentary majority, a People's Party-led government would need to form a coalition with Vox.
"Finally, the Spanish will decide," People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said in a post on X after the announcement.
Sánchez, who has been premier since 2018, is one of the longest-serving leaders in Europe. During his time in office, he has built a reputation as a political survivor, repeatedly defying expectations he would resign, including this summer over the situation in Ceuta.
Sánchez stayed in power despite failing to secure enough parliamentary votes to pass a national budget and in the face of an evolving political scandal involving accusations of misconduct against family members as well as socialist party and government officials, who all deny wrongdoing.
Spain, with its steep rent rises in major cities, has become an example of a broader European tension over living costs: Over the past year, housing prices in the country have risen nearly 13%, three times the rate of wage growth, the country's National Statistics Institute said. In Portugal, housing costs increased 16.5% over the 12 months to June.
The pressures have driven anti-tourism campaigns in popular cities such as Barcelona and Lisbon.
Demand has been pushed up by immigration, tourism, the shift of Spaniards toward major cities and smaller household sizes. Strict rules in cities like Barcelona have crimped supply: The Bank of Spain estimates that the country is short about 700,000 homes, most of that in the country's major cities, where construction is hampered by uncertainty around building regulations.