Pedro Sánchez announces early elections on November 29

MadridAlea iacta est. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, has decided to call early elections for November 29 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 Moncloa after a weekend in which he opened a round of contacts with his inner 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 has already informed King Felipe VI of this, and this morning he will convene the Council of Ministers required by law to definitively dissolve the Cortes.

In this way, the Spanish president has placed the Spanish people in the dilemma of choosing between a progressive government led by him or one from 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." During his speech, 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 through the measures he believes are necessary, the Spanish president spoke of "renewing" and "expanding" support for his executive, despite the fact that most polls currently give more than 50% of the votes to the right-wing PP and Vox. 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 call for early elections –reports Andrea Zamorano.

During his appearance, Sánchez referred to matters that have not yet been resolved, such as access to housing and the reduction of inequality. The first decision he will make after dissolving the Courts and already in the electoral pre-campaign will be on this subject. 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. This parliamentary body is responsible for safeguarding the powers of the chamber when the Courts are dissolved or during periods when it is not in session: it has majorities that are not exactly the same as the plenary resulting from democratic elections, something the Spanish government wants to take advantage of to validate at least one housing decree-law that the majority of Congress struck down, the one that stops evictions for vulnerable families and extends rental contracts for two years. In the permanent deputation, which has 69 members, Junts only has one representative and it is not decisive; therefore, the progressive majority will give the green light to the measures, which could be in force by the time of voting.

Sumar –the minority partner in the coalition– has welcomed the calling of early elections, even though its new platform, Broad Front, does not yet have a candidate. Sources from the party describe the announcement as "pertinent and necessary" and assure that the different parties involved are committed to being the "key" to a new majority that provides a response to the housing problem. "We will put up a fight," the same sources affirm, and report that in the coming days they will announce the brand, the candidacy, and the details of the alliances that will build the Broad Front, which will be introduced to society at a major event on October 17th.

The trigger

Since Friday, when the debate on housing took place in Congress, a majority of PSOE leaders have been advocating for an early election. They believe that the fact that Junts, the PP, and Vox have defeated the regulations approved by the PSOE and Sumar council of ministers provides the executive with a narrative to head to the polls. In fact, throughout the weekend, the socialists' Twitter account was already in election campaign mode. Yesterday, they posted a sign 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 effect, you would have received about 1,000 euros back in personal income tax (IRPF) next year for the rent you pay". They also posted videos reviewing the popular party's votes on housing matters since 2019.

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. On one hand, the revival of the left following the indignation caused by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, and the reaction of the Spanish government when it came to approving the housing decree laws. A regulation that did not go forward due to the no from Junts, the PP and Vox in the case of one decree law, and also from the PNB and Coalició Canària in the decree law that regulated indefinite rental contracts, which is the main demand of the Tenants' Union.

Everything in the Congress of Deputies expires

The call for elections causes key projects for Catalonia to lapse. Mainly, the issue of the reform of the financing model, which was pending to be brought to the Council of Ministers and to begin its processing in the Congress of Deputies. Also, ongoing projects such as the debt forgiveness for the autonomous communities, which was pending approval, remain in limbo, as well as the shared management between the State and the Generalitat of the Zona Franca consortium, which Esquerra and the PSOE had agreed upon. At the same time, projects that were star initiatives for the Spanish government and that they wanted to take advantage of the last stretch of the legislature to push forward, such as the ban on minors' access to social networks, also fall through. However, from the Spanish government, they admit that any approach 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 in the week that the Constitutional Court must issue the first ruling endorsing the amnesty for the leaders of the 'Procés'. A movement that will lead, this very week, to the investigating magistrate of the Supreme Court, Pablo Llarena, having to decide whether to withdraw the arrest warrant for former president Carles Puigdemont and, therefore, he has the possibility after nine years of exile to return to Catalonia.