Spain PM Sánchez calls election after government collapse

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Monday that he is dissolving parliament and calling snap elections for November 29. The move follows months of mounting criticism of his minority government and weeks of mass protests over immigration policy and the country's housing crisis.

Sánchez's outgoing government was sworn in in 2023 after he was forced to form a minority coalition with the far-left Sumar party, relying on external support from Catalan and Basque separatist parties. In October 2025, the Catalan party Junts withdrew its backing and moved to the opposition, leaving Sánchez without a parliamentary majority.

Last week, the Spanish parliament defeated a government housing proposal that would have imposed restrictions on tenant evictions and rent collection. The bill was drafted after an 87-year-old woman was evicted from the Madrid flat where she had lived for over 70 years when the investment fund that purchased the building demanded her rent be raised from €440 to €1,650 per month, more than her €1,350 monthly pension. The eviction sparked widespread protests across Spain over the housing crisis.

Sánchez's government was widely seen as one of the most hostile to Israel, with the prime minister recognising a Palestinian state during his tenure, imposing an arms embargo on Israel, and making numerous sharp statements against Israel and the war in Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar previously argued that the anti-Israel foreign policy was "a transparent attempt" to distract from corruption scandals in which Sánchez has been implicated.