Pedro Sánchez has called Spain's election for 29 November 2026. Joaquín Prat says voters need a clear choice after Congress rejected the government's housing measures.
At 9.00 on Monday 5 October, Pedro Sánchez appeared on the steps of La Moncloa and confirmed the dissolution of the Cortes. Spain will vote on Sunday 29 November 2026. The announcement came three days after Congress rejected two housing decree laws.
Joaquín Prat called the election a necessary escape from what he described as an unbearable political climate. He spoke on 'El Tiempo Justo' and said citizens should decide at the ballot box which direction Spain should take.
The housing package included interest-free loans of up to €50,000 for the purchase of a first home, alongside measures aimed at protecting vulnerable tenants.
Sánchez also used the announcement to defend his record and attack what he called the "worst opposition in our democratic history". The formal statement quickly took on the tone of a campaign speech. Prat made the same point.
La Moncloa said the dissolution followed an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers. The decree is due to be published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado.
The immediate cause was the government's defeat in the Congreso on Friday 2 October. PP, Vox and Junts voted against both housing measures. The result cut off Sánchez's existing route through parliament.
EFE placed the vote in a wider housing crisis. Rents have risen for years, and protests have become more visible. The reason is simple.
The government still has a legal option. Once the Cortes is dissolved, the Diputación Permanente remains active between parliamentary sessions. Ministers plan to approve the decrees again and send them to that body.
The commission has 30 days to approve or repeal them. That timetable gives the government a route to keep the measures alive before the election.
The Diputación Permanente has 68 members. On the reported distribution, a left-wing combination could reach 35 votes against 34 for PP, Vox and Junts on one of the decrees, meaning the government may not need Junts in that forum.
The measures failed in the full chamber. They may now face a different vote in a smaller parliamentary forum.
The Diputación Permanente has 68 members. Its reported composition is 27 from PP, 24 from PSOE, six from Vox, six from Sumar, and one each from ERC, Junts, Bildu, PNV and the mixed group. Congress president Francina Armengol is also part of the body.
On one decree, the left-wing side could reach 35 votes against 34 for PP, Vox and Junts. The figures suggest the government may not need Junts there. Whether the decrees pass will decide if the housing plans move forward before Spaniards vote.
The package went beyond rent rules. La Razón reported plans to extend protections against eviction for vulnerable tenants until 2030. The measures also covered some rental contracts, speculative operations by large owners and interest-free loans of up to €50,000 for first-home buyers.
That made the failed vote matter outside Congress. Tenants, landlords and people trying to buy their first home all had a direct interest in the result.
Prat was blunt about the political mood. He called it "unbreathable" and said an election could offer relief by allowing citizens to choose Spain's future themselves. He opened his morning programme with the same argument.
The dispute now moves from Congress to voters. As an earlier report showed, housing has become a central test for the groups seeking the next parliamentary majority.
El País reported that Sánchez brought the election forward by roughly nine months from the expected end of the parliamentary term. He made the decision after consulting his cabinet, PSOE leaders and allies.
Public pressure has grown outside parliament as well. EFE and El País reported that protests intensified after the forced eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid. The episode became one factor in the pressure on the government.
The sequence is now set. Congress rejected the housing decrees. Sánchez called an early election. The Diputación Permanente may still review the measures, but the main decision will come on 29 November.
Prat sees the ballot as the clearest outlet because the full Congreso route has already failed. Spanish voters will now decide what happens next.
