Spain's leftist Prime Minister ordered the dissolution of parliament and early elections
Following the rejection of two Spanish government housing bills by members of parliament, Pedro Sanchez, the country's prime minister, ordered the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections.
Sanchez is one of the few remaining leftist prime ministers in Europe, and with these two supportive bills he tried to win the favor of protesters who have been demonstrating in the streets for days.
Despite all this, his minority government failed to secure the affirmative votes of parliament members, and for this reason he is now trying to return to parliament "with a progressive majority" by holding elections on November 29 of this year, in less than two months.
Spain's national elections were scheduled to take place in the summer of 2027.
This action comes at a time when many experts and analysts evaluate the work of Sanchez, who has been working with his leftist government since 2018, as dangerous. Amidst protests, according to AFP, polls indicate that the conservative People's Party is leading as the main opposition against the Spanish socialists.
The bills proposed by Sanchez's leftist government were rejected not by the opposition, but first by the Catalan separatist party named "Junts", a party with which Sanchez needs a coalition to stay in power.
The government's two housing bills included the automatic extension of house rental contracts and restrictions on the eviction of vulnerable tenants.
The protests in Madrid, the capital of Spain, and other cities, which also involved thousands of people last Saturday, began after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted by police after living in an apartment in Madrid for decades.
The landlord suddenly increased the rent of her apartment by 275%, an amount that this elderly woman could not pay.
Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.