Spain's Sanchez called early election after housing vote defeat

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

The defeat on Friday was another setback for Sanchez, one of the few European prime ministers from the political left still in power. Tens of thousands of people protested in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday, demanding affordable housing.

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

The proposed measures included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants. Opposition parties voted against the bills, including the Catalan separatist party Junts, whose support the government relies on.

The defeat underscored the difficulties facing Sanchez's minority coalition as anger over rising housing costs intensified.

Housing protests have continued for more than a week, following the eviction last month of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid flat, where she had lived for seven decades.

Hundreds of protesters had occupied a tent city in central Madrid, calling for housing reforms. Recent opinion polls had generally placed the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) ahead of the Socialists.

Soaring prices

Housing had been a major concern for Spaniards for years as supply fell short of demand, pushing up rents and house prices.

Average rents in Spain had almost doubled over the previous decade, while asking prices for homes had risen by about 90%, according to real estate website Idealista.

Abascal's eviction became a focus of anger over rising housing costs. Housing campaigners said an investment company that acquired her flat sought to increase her rent by 275%. The backlash led the new owners to agree to let her return at a low rent.

Spain had also been operating under its 2023 budget, the last national spending plan passed by Sanchez's government, for several years.

The election will put Sanchez's Socialist government under renewed pressure as voters decide whether to give it a broader mandate.

Source: Le Monde with AFP