Spanish PM Sanchez calls snap election as pressure mounts over housing crisis

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Monday he would call an early election on November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his government.

"To do more, we need to renew and broaden the support of the people," Sanchez, in office since 2018, said in a televised address, adding his aim was "to secure a much broader, progressive majority in parliament". 

In recent weeks, Spanish residents have demanded solutions from the government over housing affordability, holding protests in cities across the country after public outrage grew over the televised eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid last month.

Read moreSpanish lawmakers vote down affordable housing bills in blow to Sanchez’s government

Right-wing opposition parties joined forces to scuttle two emergency decrees in Parliament that included measures to reduce evictions and real estate speculation.

The setback sparked wide speculation that Sanchez could consider moving up a national election from next year.

Sanchez has been Spain’s prime minister since 2018, making him one of Europe’s longest-standing leaders.

Sanchez has stood out globally for taking a strong stance on progressive issues from Palestinian statehood to defending multilateral institutions and cracking down ​on "tech oligarchs", even as a series of setbacks and scandals weakened his position at home.

Facing the electorate now is a risky move as Sanchez's Socialist Party is trailing in opinion polls.

An election defeat would spell the end of one of Europe's last few left-leaning governments at ⁠a time when the far-right is making unprecedented gains across the region as a growing swathe of European voters desert the centre ground.

Opinion polls suggest a coalition led by the conservative People's Party (PP) with the support of Vox ‌is the most likely outcome in Spain, ushering a far-right party into central government for the first time since the return of ⁠democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco.

Still, Sanchez, a wily political operator, has proven time and again his ability to surprise those who had long written him off.

Despite never winning enough votes to form a majority government, he has cobbled together a series of fragile and seemingly ​impossible coalitions including voices from the far-left to the separatist right to remain in power for three successive terms lasting eight ‌years.

But growing fragmentation among his partners has meant the government has passed little in the way of legislation in its third term and failed to pass a budget since 2023, even as Spain's economy has continued to be one of the best performing in the developed world.