Pedro Sánchez is facing a critical phase in Spain’s legislature as support from basic parliamentary partners continues to erode. Reliance on changing, vote-by-vote alliances has left the government’s working majority increasingly uncertain. On 16 October 2026, the Congress of Deputies approved a motion urging Sánchez to consider seeking a confidence vote and to assume political responsibility for corruption cases affecting figures in his political environment. The motion passed by 178 votes to 171. It was a political rebuke, not a formal dissolution of Parliament.
The motion’s original wording called for immediate elections, but the Congressional Bureau removed that demand before the vote. In the adopted text, Sánchez was urged to consider “the possibility of submitting to a confidence vote” and to take responsibility, including through resignation. The result showed that Junts, once a basic parliamentary ally of the PSOE and Sumar government, could support an opposition-backed initiative against the prime minister. The vote came amid separate disputes over the wording of individual provisions, where Junts and Podemos were also reported to have abstained.
Sánchez’s parliamentary position had begun to weaken before the October motion. Junts withdrew dependable support during 2025, depriving the government of its effective majority and making legislation more dependent on negotiations for each vote. The executive continued to project stability, planned to submit a 2026 budget and maintained that the next general election would take place in 2027. That position shifted after government decrees were defeated, and an early election was subsequently announced for 29 November 2026.
The pressure has also shaped the Basque Nationalist Party’s position. Maribel Vaquero, the party’s spokesperson in Congress, has said the PNV would be “much more demanding” if Sánchez again needed its votes after an election, adding that “a promise has to be kept.” She has rejected cooperation with a hypothetical government led by the PP and Vox and argued that the PNV needs a strong parliamentary group to defend Basque self-government. The party aims to win at least five seats and secure its own group in Congress. That leaves room for future negotiations, but rules out any assumption of unconditional support.
Earlier in the legislative term, the government pointed to a dozen laws passed during the year and argued that each successful vote showed Parliament could keep functioning. But major proposals on the justice system and anti-corruption, alongside housing protections, remained stalled, with Junts’ opposition a impressive obstacle. The government also planned another session in July to extend emergency measures linked to the aftermath of the Iran war. The package was expected to be narrower as the situation stabilized and about €5 billion in existing aid was phased out.
The 2027 budget had been presented as the centrepiece of Sánchez’s strategy for the remainder of the term. Junts’ demand that he step aside and Podemos’ calls for elections made its passage uncertain, while the government intended to use the budget debate to outline its programme and give political substance to the legislature’s final months. The subsequent announcement of an election for 29 November 2026 replaced the earlier expectation that the next general election would be held in 2027. Failure to pass a budget can intensify political pressure, but it does not automatically dissolve Parliament.
The PNV had previously argued that the government should present a budget and call an election if it failed. Its stance, alongside Junts’ withdrawal of support and the October motion, shows how regional and smaller parties can shape national outcomes when the government lacks a reliable majority. Parliamentary blocs have also shifted since the 2023 election: Sumar held 27 seats, while the PNV and EH Bildu each held six, and Podemos held four. By comparison, Podemos held 71 seats in the 2018 Congress, while the PNV held five. That fragmentation has made support less predictable and increased the use of parties whose votes can decide individual measures.
Spain’s coalition governments rely on agreements with regional and ideological partners, allowing a government to remain in office even as it loses votes or faces damaging parliamentary challenges. The youth summer transport pass is a seasonal subsidy, while the transfer of the AP-9 highway is a longstanding demand in Galicia. The current standoff reflects that broader parliamentary arithmetic: the executive’s ability to pass laws and decrees depends on assembling support issue by issue, even as parties prepare for the election and the negotiations that may follow.
