MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez launched his campaign for the 29 November general election in Dos Hermanas, near Seville, placing housing at the heart of his message before more than 5,000 supporters. The choice was deliberate: the Andalusian town is a historic Socialist stronghold and the place where Sánchez began previous successful campaigns.
Sánchez invoked the memory of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87 year old woman whose eviction in Madrid made her a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis. Her death days later triggered protests across the country and intensified pressure on the government to act.
“The social cause bears the name of an 87 year old woman,” Sánchez told the crowd, repeating her words: “What I have suffered, I don’t want anyone else to go through.”
The Socialist leader accused the opposition People’s Party of spreading fear for eight years. Referring to the fable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” he said: “They are the wolf.” He argued that the PP insults rivals in opposition and imposes cuts when in government.
In Madrid, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo opened his own campaign at the Ifema venue, promising change for millions of Spaniards. He attacked Sánchez sharply, saying he came from a background of managing budgets and protecting public services rather than “the saunas or the sewers.”
The election was called after Sánchez’s minority government failed to pass urgent housing measures in parliament. The vote will now take place on 29 November, earlier than originally expected.news.
More than 2.76 million Spaniards living abroad are eligible to vote, an increase of more than 19 percent since 2023. Spain’s electoral register has also grown by 1.26 million people, while 1.6 million young voters will cast a ballot for the first time.
As housing protests continue in Madrid and other cities, both main parties began their campaigns aware that the cost and availability of housing may shape the country’s political future.
