Spain’s PM calls snap election after conservative and far-right wins in local polls
Pedro Sánchez says Spanish people need to ‘clarify’ what they want after ruling socialists suffer losses in regional and municipal elections
Mon 29 May 2023 11.38 BST
Last modified on Mon 29 May 2023 12.13 BSTSpain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called a snap general election in response to the triumph of the rightwing opposition in Sunday’s regional and municipal elections.
The conservative People’s party (PP) – which used the polls as a de facto referendum on Sánchez’s coalition government with the far-left, anti-austerity Podemos party – scored an emphatic win, securing absolute majorities in the Madrid region and the city council, aking regions including Aragón, Valencia and the Balearic islands from the prime minister’s Spanish Socialist Workers party (PSOE).
However, the PP’s failure to secure the necessary majorities in many of the newly-won regions means it will have to strike deals with the far-right Vox party, which also comfortably increased its showing on Sunday.
Speaking at the Moncloa palace in Madrid on Monday morning, Sánchez announced that he had informed King Felipe of his decision to dissolve parliament and call a general election on 23 July – five months before the next election was due to be held.
“I’ve taken this decision in view of yesterday’s election results,” the prime minister said. “The first consequence of the results is that magnificent socialist regional presidents and mayors who have governed impeccably have lost despite the fact that many of them increased their support yesterday. The second consequence is that many, many institutions will be administered by new majorities comprising the People’s party and Vox.”
Sánchez said that while Sunday’s votes had been municipal and regional, they had “transmitted a message” that transcended local considerations and demanded a democratic response. Announcing the election, he stressed Spain’s post-Covid economic recovery and the country’s forthcoming EU presidency, and said it would be for the Spanish people to decide what happened next.
“I think we need a clarification when it comes to what the Spanish people want, a clarification when it comes to the policies that the national government should offer, and a clarification when it comes to the political groups that should lead this phase,” he said.
“There’s only one infallible method for resolving those doubts – and that method is democracy. As a result, I think the best thing is for Spanish men and women to have their say and to decide the country’s political direction as soon as possible.”
