Will Spain’s housing crisis bring down the Sánchez government? On 5 October, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that snap elections will be held on 29 November. The announcement comes in the wake of the parliament’s rejection, two days earlier, of two decrees aimed at tackling the country’s housing crisis. The right and far right – who hold a majority in the assembly – rallied to oppose both decrees.
The government’s emergency measures were intended to assuage public anger, which has shown no sign of abating since 23 September, when an 87-year-old woman from Madrid was evicted following a drastic rent increase. For some observers, the demonstrations and grassroots occupations rocking the country are reminiscent of the Indignados movement that swept across the country in 2011. Gathering to defend the right to housing, the demonstrators are brandishing the keys to their homes, symbolising a situation that has become unbearable for many citizens.
Polls suggest that the conservative People’s Party (PP) are the favourites to win the election, with the far-right Vox also expected to make a breakthrough. Both parties are capitalising on the current instability, as well as the government’s response to the migration crisis in Ceuta.
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