Spain heads to snap election after housing defeat in parliament
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called an early general election for November 29 after parliament rejected his emergency housing measures. Polls show the right, including Vox, gaining ground.
Spain's social democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced an early election for November 29. The decision follows a political defeat on October 2, when parliament rejected the government's emergency measures to address the housing crisis. Seven lawmakers from the Catalan separatist party Junts, whose backing the government has depended on since 2023, voted the package down. Sanchez says he is seeking a "much broader progressive majority".
Housing crisis and street pressure
The housing shortage has topped Spaniards' list of concerns for roughly three years. According to the Bank of Spain, the country lacks about 750,000 homes, a gap that could exceed one million by 2028. More than half of people aged 18 to 34 live with their parents or rely on them financially. Property prices have lately risen three times as fast as wages, and social housing makes up only about 1.7 percent of the housing stock.
The issue moved to the centre of politics after the forced eviction last month of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal. Protest camps appeared in Madrid and elsewhere, tens of thousands marched, and the trade unions CCOO and UGT announced a 24-hour general strike. The tenants' movement also considers Sanchez's plans insufficient, while the conservative People's Party and parts of the business community warn that tighter rent controls could worsen the problem.
An unstable government base
Since 2023, Sanchez has governed without a parliamentary majority. His PSOE is in coalition with the left-wing Sumar alliance and relies on smaller parties, above all Junts. In the first half of 2026 alone, the government lost almost one in four votes, and no new state budget has passed since 2023. Corruption scandals and the migration crisis in Ceuta, where more than 70,000 people crossed from Morocco at the end of July, added to the pressure.
Opposition and international dimension
The People's Party is the frontrunner to become the largest group, but the right-wing populist Vox has been the real winner of recent months, polling just over 18 percent, about six points above its 2023 result. Vox leader Santiago Abascal is setting conditions for cooperation, including a much tougher migration policy.
Sanchez is often portrayed in international media as Europe's most prominent critic of Donald Trump. He rejected the demand to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP and refused to let US bases in Spain be used for the war against Iran.
