Pedro Sánchez announces early elections for November 29

MadridAlea iacta est. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, has decided to call early elections for November 29th after the votes of Junts, the PP, and Vox in Congress struck down the housing decree-laws approved by the Council of Ministers. He announced this on Monday in a solemn appearance at La Moncloa after a weekend in which he opened a round of contacts with his trusted circle, analyzed data, and took the pulse of the street, where especially in Madrid there was a massive mobilization in favor of the right to housing. "We need more support for the progressive majority to bend the elites," he said, and urged citizens to choose between joining the far-right wave sweeping the world or being "on the right side of history" and renewing their trust in the PSOE.

Sánchez informed Felipe VI of his intentions on Sunday night, who left this Monday for a state visit to Finland, and he gathered the mandatory Council of Ministers to be able to definitively dissolve the Cortes. A government meeting where Sánchez received euphoric support from all the ministers for having taken this decision. "It is complicated, but we can return to govern," maintains a socialist source, representing the mood that the party leadership wants to convey even though polls indicate that the PP and Vox could reach more than 50% of the votes.

During his appearance, the Spanish president placed Spaniards in the dilemma of choosing between a progressive government led by him and one of the PP and Vox, whom he defined as "the worst opposition in the history of democracy." That is to say, either him or "handing over the reins to a far-right coalition that has proposed nothing." Sánchez reviewed and defended his government's action, and recalled that he has faced numerous crises and has had to do so with a very complicated majority in the Congress of Deputies. Precisely for this reason, due to the lack of support in the Spanish chamber and the complexity of pushing forward the measures he believes are necessary, the Spanish president spoke of "renewing" and "expanding" support for his executive. In fact, while Sánchez was appearing, the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, was about to begin an informative breakfast in the same Spanish capital, the audience of which broke into applause when they learned of the early election call –reports Andrea Zamorano.

From the PSOE, they assume that the electoral campaign will be very tough with a right and far-right that have been demanding elections for some time. They give as an example that they are already sowing doubts about the mail-in vote: "Stop talking nonsense," said Minister Félix Bolaños; "a tremendous reaction from those who were asking for elections from minute one," added the PSOE spokesperson in Congress, Patxi López, before the socialists' executive meeting at five in the afternoon, where the Spanish president had gone to reaffirm to the party leadership his decision to call early elections.

In fact, the battle between the PSOE and the PP has begun during the institutional appearance. Sánchez took a shot at the populars: "We have transferred more resources to the autonomous governments than ever so they would invest in health and education, and they have bought penthouses and privatized hospitals," he said regarding Ayuso. For Sánchez, the Spanish government has only taken measures to "advance" –he boasted of being one of the Eurozone economies that is growing the most– and now the citizenry must decide whether to continue on the same path or regress, in his opinion, with a PP and Vox government.

Sánchez also referred to matters that have not yet been able to be resolved, such as access to housing and the reduction of inequality, but attributed it to the lack of majorities in Congress. For this reason, the first decision he makes after dissolving the Cortes and already in the pre-election campaign is to address the housing issue. Although on Friday Congress struck down the housing decree laws, according to sources from the Spanish government, the council of ministers will approve them again this Tuesday and they will have to be validated by the permanent deputation of Congress, where the progressives do have a majority without Junts.

The trigger

Since Friday, when the housing debate took place in Congress, a majority of PSOE leaders have been advocating for early elections. They consider that the fact that Junts, the PP, and Vox have struck down the regulations approved by the PSOE and Sumar council of ministers gives the executive a narrative to head to the polls. In fact, throughout the weekend, the Socialists' X account was already in campaign mode. Yesterday, they posted a poster saying "Because of the PP, Vox, Junts, and UPN, you will pay 50 euros more per month on your rent" and "With the decree in force, you would have received about 1,000 euros back in income tax next year for the rent you pay," as well as videos reviewing the Popular Party's votes on housing matters since 2019.

Euphoria was palpable among the Socialist officials arriving this Monday afternoon at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street. "We will win," assure sources from the party, as they believe the history of 2023 can be repeated: "It's game on." "The president is eager for it," affirms another source, "the elections will come down to a penalty kick, and our player is eager to take the shot," adds a high-ranking Socialist leader.

However, the PSOE admits that their push must be accompanied by a quick organization of the coalition's minority partner, Sumar. The platform, which will now be called Broad Front, has also celebrated the early elections, but for now, it does not have a set candidate—Minister Mónica García has offered herself—while Podemos wants to hold open primaries with Irene Montero on October 14 and 15. "Before us, we have the coalition of vulture funds, setbacks, and fear," they already reiterate at the PSOE as their campaign argument. "These elections will pit two models against each other," they reaffirm.

Although Pedro Sánchez had always said that the elections would be in 2027 and at most had spoken of a "technical advancement," finally the Spanish president has decided to change the playing field and go to the polls. On the table there were pros and cons and Sánchez himself had been weighing them all weekend. "The majority of PSOE leaders, even the critics, endorsed the elections," reaffirm sources familiar with the conversations.

From the Spanish government they admit that trying to carry on with the legislature was doomed to failure after the break with Junts. The fact that Miriam Nogueras's party sat down to negotiate the housing decree-law opened a passable path for the executive to reconcile with Carles Puigdemont's party, but as things have ended, the relationship has blown up. And all this just a few days before the path is cleared in the courts for the return of Carles Puigdemont to Catalonia after nine years of exile.