Sánchez calls snap election in Spain after parliament rejects housing measures
Rule Changes
Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned over the Urda crash that killed 69, as Sánchez returned to the trail and polls still point to a PP-Vox majority.
Spain votes on November 29 in a snap election Pedro Sánchez called after parliament rejected his housing measures. Campaigning restarted in early November after the Urda train crash killed 69 people, the second fatal high-speed collision in nine months after 46 died near Córdoba.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned on November 3, six days after the crash, having announced €30 million in aid and reduced train frequencies on the Madrid-Seville line. Sánchez has barely mentioned the crash at recent rallies, and a late-October GAD3 poll still puts the PP and Vox on 198 seats, above the 176 needed for a majority.
Why it matters
Spain's November 29 vote decides whether tenant protections survive or a PP-Vox government shelves them.
Questions about this story
Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.
No questions yet — be the first to ask.
Key Indicators
198
Projected PP+Vox seats
A GAD3 poll for ABC in late October gave the PP and Vox 198 of 350 seats, above the 176 needed for an absolute majority.
69
Dead in Urda rail crash
Sixty-nine bodies were recovered after a train struck another from behind near Urda, Toledo, on October 28.
21 events
Latest: Yesterday
Showing 8 of 21
JK to step
Tap a bar to jump to that date
Jump to
December 2026
New Cortes convene
UpcomingPolitical
Newly elected deputies and senators hold constitutive sessions, opening the process of forming a government.
November 2026
Election day
UpcomingElection
Spaniards vote in the snap general election for a new 350-seat Congress.
Official campaign begins
UpcomingPolitical
The 15-day campaign opens at midnight and runs until November 27.
Funeral held for Urda victims; Sánchez absent
LatestDeath
A funeral mass for the 69 victims took place at Toledo cathedral, attended by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page. Sánchez's official agenda had him recording a campaign podcast with Jordi Wild instead.
Sánchez resumes campaigning after mourning
Political
Sánchez returned to rallies in Valencia, Tarragona and Bilbao. He spoke about the crash for 66 seconds in Valencia, 46 seconds in Tarragona, and did not mention it in Bilbao.
Puente unveils rail safety package and victim aid
Political
In Congress, Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced €30 million in direct aid for victims and temporary cuts to Madrid-Seville frequencies until ERTMS Level 2 is fully running in early 2027. He also promised a second Adif controller to cross-check decisions during signalling failures and new oversight software.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigns
Political
Puente stepped down six days after the Urda crash, after presenting his safety measures and aid package. He said: 'No one is bigger than their organization. My ego has never been greater than my party.'
October 2026
Ballot-table draw held; digital DNI plan advances
Election
The draw for polling station tables took place, and the government approved a ministerial order tasking Correos with distributing QR readers so voters can use a digital DNI.
Deadly train collision in Urda, Toledo
Accident
A train struck another from behind near Urda, in Toledo province, killing 69 people and pushing rail safety into the election campaign.
GAD3 poll projects a PP-Vox majority of 198 seats
Poll
A GAD3 survey for ABC gave the PP and Vox 198 of 350 seats, above the 176 needed for an absolute majority.
Sánchez launches campaign in Sevilla with housing pledge
Political
Sánchez vowed to strengthen tenant protections against 'real estate speculation' if his party wins an absolute majority.
Unions call general strike for November 11
Protest
Unions fixed November 11 for a 24-hour nationwide stoppage, the first since 2012, putting the strike inside the campaign period.
Death of Maricarmen Abascal reported; protests re-energize
Death
The 87-year-old whose eviction from a Madrid flat in September ignited Spain's housing crisis died this week; the Los Angeles Times reported her death was drawing protesters back to the streets.
First housing decree takes effect
Political
The first of two revived housing decrees came into force; a second is scheduled for November 15.
Royal Decree 806/2026 formalizes the election call in the official gazette, and the cabinet re-approves the housing measures with technical changes for the Permanent Deputation to validate.
Sánchez calls snap election for November 29
Political
The prime minister announces the dissolution of the Cortes and a general election, bringing forward a vote originally due next summer.
Congress rejects emergency housing decrees
Political
PP, Vox and Junts vote down two emergency decrees that would have suspended evictions of vulnerable tenants and regulated rents.
Nationwide protests, Barcelona clashes over housing
Protest
Tens of thousands marched over the first October weekend after parliament rejected the housing decrees; hundreds of activists clashed with police in Barcelona, throwing stones and setting fires.
Parties suspend campaign events for mourning
Political
All parties cancelled pre-campaign events after the Urda crash, and a period of mourning ran until November 1.
Electoral board opens sixth sanctioning file against Sánchez
Legal
The Junta Electoral Central opened a sanctioning file, its sixth involving Sánchez, over a video using Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía museum as a campaign backdrop.
September 2026
Abascal eviction ignites housing protests
Protest
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, is evicted from a Madrid apartment she had rented since 1956 after a sharp rent rise; protests spread nationwide.
Scenarios
1
PP and Vox form a right-wing government
Likely
Resolves by Feb 15, 2027
Discussed by: POLITICO's poll of polls and most Spanish surveys
Recent polls put the PP at 34 percent with Vox at 18, a combination projected to clear a majority in the 350-seat chamber. The two parties already govern together in four regions. If that holds on November 29, Feijóo would likely become prime minister with Vox backing, and the housing decrees Sánchez pushed — eviction suspensions, rent extensions, tourist-apartment taxes — would probably be shelved or rewritten.
2
Sánchez's gamble pays off and a leftist coalition survives
Unlikely
Resolves by Feb 15, 2027
Discussed by: The Guardian and commentators citing housing anger as a swing factor
If voters channel fury over rents into support for the left, PSOE could close the polling gap and, with Sumar and regional partners, hold onto government. Sánchez framed the campaign as a choice between progressive reform and a 'far-right wave.' The risk is that right-wing consolidation and a comfortable PP-Vox majority materialize instead.
3
Housing decrees survive via the Permanent Deputation
Possible
Resolves by Dec 23, 2026
Discussed by: elconstitucional.es and Spanish government sources
Because the Cortes are dissolved, validation of the re-approved royal decree-laws shifts from the full chamber — where Junts helped sink them — to the 69-member Permanent Deputation, where PSOE holds 24 seats. The government reintroduced the decrees with technical modifications on Tuesday, hoping to clear them there before the new parliament convenes in December.
4
Second housing decree survives ratification
Possible
Resolves by Nov 15, 2026
Discussed by: Spanish Property Insight, government sources
The second decree, due to take effect November 15, remains less likely to survive the Permanent Deputation, where the Basque PNV's opposition could sink it.
5
Rail safety overtakes housing as the campaign's main issue
Possible
Resolves by Nov 29, 2026
Discussed by: The Guardian
After the Urda collision killed at least 69 people, The Guardian reported that rail safety threatens to overshadow Sánchez's record and that the crash could sap his momentum. If the issue dominates the final weeks, the housing message Sánchez built his campaign on may carry less weight.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
April 2019
Spain's 2019 snap election gamble
Sánchez called an early election after Catalan parties rejected his budget. PSOE won the most seats but fell short of a majority, and months of failed talks forced a repeat election in November 2019, which eventually produced Spain's first coalition government.
Then
PSOE finished first but could not form a government, dragging the process into autumn.
Now
The November rerun led to a PSOE-Unidas Podemos coalition, Sánchez's first full-term government.
Why this matters now
Sánchez has used snap polls before to break parliamentary deadlock — and the result was anything but a clean majority.
2 of 3
June 2017
Theresa May's 2017 UK snap election
May called an early election three years ahead of schedule to strengthen her Conservative majority before Brexit talks. She lost her parliamentary majority instead and had to rely on a confidence-and-supply deal with the DUP.
Then
Conservatives lost their majority; May clung to power with backbench support.
Now
Her weakened position forced concessions in the Brexit process and ended her premiership two years later.
Why this matters now
The standard warning that snap elections called to consolidate power can backfire badly.
3 of 3
September 2005
Schröder's 2005 German snap election
Gerhard Schröder engineered a lost confidence vote to force early elections a year early, after painful labor reforms split his coalition and cost his party regional votes.
Then
Schröder lost narrowly to Angela Merkel, who became chancellor.
Now
Merkel's 16-year chancellorship began with the election Schröder had called to save his own government.
Why this matters now
An early election intended to rescue a government instead handed power to the opposition.
