Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez officially kicked off his campaign for the November 29 snap election on Saturday, navigating a political landscape radically reshaped by the country’s escalating housing crisis.
The election was triggered after weeks of nationwide demonstrations demanding urgent action on housing affordability. The unrest was catalyzed two weeks prior by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Madrid pensioner, whose plight became a symbol of Spain’s chronic housing shortages. Although Abascal died in a hospital on Wednesday, her case intensified pressure on Sanchez’s minority coalition, which ultimately failed to pass key housing decrees in parliament.
Sanchez, who has led the country since 2018, selected Dos Hermanas, a historic Socialist stronghold near Seville, as the symbolic starting point for his campaign. The location holds personal significance for the Prime Minister, having been the launchpad for his 2023 victory and his political rebound after resigning the party leadership in 2016.
During his rally, Sanchez pledged to strengthen legal protections for tenants against real estate speculation if his party secures an absolute majority. He expressed solidarity with Abascal’s legacy, stating that she and fellow campaigners “have opened the way” for the cause of housing justice.
While Sanchez trails in most polls to the conservative Popular Party (PP), he retains support from voters like Isabel Morales, a 67-year-old pensioner who praised the government’s record on wages and pensions. “He’s done a lot of things for the working class… Let’s hope he continues,” Morales told reporters.
Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo countered from Madrid, calling for a “total change” in government leadership. Feijoo, who topped polling ahead of Sanchez, has focused his critique on the administration’s handling of recent migration surges in the North African enclave of Ceuta, where tens of thousands of migrants have remained in difficult conditions since late July.
Despite leading in the polls, analysts suggest Feijoo may struggle to secure a parliamentary majority, potentially leaving the far-right Vox party as a decisive kingmaker in post-election coalition talks.
The housing issue loomed large over both campaigns, with hundreds of protesters maintaining a camp at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square. Adding to the tension, main labor unions have scheduled a general strike for November 11—the first in Spain since 2012—aimed at amplifying demands for better wages and housing protections before the vote.
An 87-year-old pensioner dying after eviction is just tragic. Politics feels so detached from actual human suffering lately.
The timing of a general strike right before the election seems incredibly risky. Hope they don’t accidentally cost workers their jobs.