Spain's PM Sanchez Calls Snap Elections After Housing Protests — Update

By Joshua Kirby

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called fresh parliamentary elections for next month after protests against high housing costs, adding to the instability rocking European politics.

The socialist leader's move comes after a key piece of housing legislation offering more support to renters was rejected by lawmakers on Friday, demonstrating the fragility of the premier's mandate. Sanchez began a new term as head of the eurozone's fourth-largest economy in 2023 but lacks a parliamentary majority.

Protests broke out late last month across Spain's cities against what many see as an unaffordable housing market, symbolized by the recent eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the flat she had lived in for decades.

Sanchez said he would dissolve congress, with elections for the Spanish lower house to be held on Nov. 29. Polls suggest the conservative opposition Popular Party, or PP, would win most votes in an election and could command a parliamentary majority alongside the far-right Vox party.

"We want to bring about a much larger progressive majority in parliament," Sanchez said in a televised speech Monday.

Alongside housing, immigration has become a hot-button topic in Spain after thousands of migrants crossed into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco this summer.

In response to Sanchez's announcement, the PP posted a video tagged "AT LAST" on social media. Vox leader Santiago Abascal was due to speak in an interview later Monday.

The Spanish people will have to decide whether to join a "regressive" far-right wave that has surged in Europe, Sanchez said. The populist AfD has seen a swell in support in Germany, while in France, the anti-immigration National Rally could win out in next year's presidential elections, polls show.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2026 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)