Ernest Urtasun is rebuilding Frente Amplio before the 29 November election while pressing Junts to support two revised housing decrees.
On 29 November, Spain will hold an early general election. Before then, Ernest Urtasun wants Frente Amplio to settle its electoral identity and wants Junts to reconsider its position on two housing decrees.
The Sumar spokesperson and Culture Minister is linking those two tasks. Frente Amplio must be rebuilt quickly. The Government also needs support in Congress after the measures failed on 2 October 2026.
Junts first backed talks on including many of its demands. It later voted against both texts alongside PP and Vox. The Council of Ministers approved the decrees again on Tuesday with some changes. Urtasun now wants Junts to validate them in the relevant congressional commission.
The two housing decrees were formally defeated in Congress on 2 October 2026. The first received 161 votes in favour and 178 against, while the second received 166 in favour and 184 against.
The message was blunt.
Urtasun said the return of Carles Puigdemont should have practical consequences for Cataluña and for relations between Cataluña and España. He argued that institutional dialogue works more smoothly when the political system is stable. Junts, he said, should not keep joining PP and Vox to overturn housing measures approved by the Government.
He described the commission vote as a chance for Junts to correct what he called a serious mistake. The choice is specific. The party has a vote that could decide whether the decrees move forward after their earlier defeat.
The first decree covered measures against evictions, rental regulation and room rentals. The second introduced automatic and successive extensions of rental contracts. The Government has kept the core of the tax incentives, Urtasun said, while making separate changes.
Frente Amplio is being presented as an electoral alliance bringing together Movimiento Sumar, Izquierda Unida, Más Madrid and los Comuns. Its public campaign priorities include housing and public services, with the alliance arguing that the 29 November election should produce a new majority capable of addressing the housing crisis.
Frente Amplio is now preparing its own launch. Speaking on La Hora de La 1, Urtasun said the project would explain this week how it will present its candidacy, which brand it will use and how the electoral offer will be organised.
Several questions remain open. The method for selecting candidates has not been decided. Urtasun said contacts and discussions had accelerated this week, but the project was not ready to disclose much because the talks required discretion.
The election timetable leaves little room. Frente Amplio wants to maximise its support before 29 November. At the same time, the Government is trying to recover backing for decrees that Junts rejected with PP and Vox.
The setback was clear.
Reports based on the 2 October vote said UPN also opposed both texts. PNV and Coalición Canaria joined the opposition in the second vote. That produced a broader defeat than in the first ballot.
The Council of Ministers has since reapproved both royal decree-laws with adjustments. Urtasun said the core of the tax incentives remained in place. He presented the internal reorganisation as controlled rather than improvised and called for calm while the candidacy and electoral identity are decided. The interview provided no final details.
The parliamentary route has also changed after Parliament was dissolved. The revised decrees are expected to go before the Permanent Deputation instead of a normal plenary sitting. Forbes and Spanish political reporting noted that PP, Vox and Junts do not hold a majority there. The result will depend on a wider combination of parliamentary positions.
The arithmetic matters.
The Council of Ministers has approved the revised decrees. Their progress still depends on the congressional commission vote. Junts therefore has a defined role in the immediate process, while Frente Amplio is still deciding how its electoral vehicle will look.
Urtasun's position brings the two problems together. The Government needs Junts to reverse its housing vote. Frente Amplio needs to turn a short preparation period into electoral support. Its candidate list and final brand remain undisclosed, but the housing vote will be the first practical test of the strategy.
