A FRESH political crisis has gripped Spain as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez weighs calling a snap general election following a parliamentary defeat on tenant protection decrees.
The socialist leader spent hours locked in discussions with cabinet ministers in Congress on Friday morning after right-wing parties joined Catalan separatists to strike down two flagship housing laws, according to national daily El Pais.
If Sanchez chooses to dissolve parliament, the earliest available date for Spaniards to head to the polls is Sunday, November 29.
To meet that constitutional deadline, the prime minister would have to make a formal announcement by Tuesday.
The rejected legislation included two emergency royal decree laws designed to halt tenant evictions and enforce mandatory extensions on residential rental contracts across the country.
The measures were fast-tracked through the Council of Ministers following nationwide anger over the eviction of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal, which sparked a permanent protest camp in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square.
However, the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox teamed up with Catalan separatist party Junts per Catalunya to shoot down both decrees in the Congress of Deputies.
Sources close to the prime minister’s office at La Moncloa insisted that ‘all scenarios are on the table’, though officials publicly downplayed talk of an emergency crisis cabinet.
Senior figures within the PSOE are now pushing Sanchez to call an immediate election to capitalise on public outrage over housing, hoping to put recent political damage from the Ceuta border crisis behind them.
Party strategists believe an autumn election campaign would allow the government to put the opposition on the back foot by framing the contest around tenants’ rights versus ‘vulture funds’.
Other ministers are urging caution, arguing the coalition should wait until March to give embattled junior coalition partner Sumar time to restructure and choose a candidate.
Sanchez’s inner circle reportedly views a snap election before the end of the year as a 99% certainty, despite his previous public pledges to serve out the full mandate until 2027.
A final decision is expected over the weekend, with Sanchez monitoring internal polling numbers and the turnout at planned housing protests before a party executive meeting on Monday.
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