Overview
- Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a snap general election for November 29 after parliament last week rejected two emergency housing decrees that aimed to cap rents and limit evictions.
- The government said it will reapprove similar measures at cabinet and send them to the reduced 69-member caretaker standing body for temporary implementation until a new parliament sits.
- Tens of thousands continued to protest the housing crisis, with large marches in Barcelona turning violent and local police reporting about 30 officers injured and roughly a dozen arrests during clashes.
- The campaign is shaping into a clash over remedies: the governing Socialists push tenant protections while the opposition People's Party, ahead in polls, promises a large house‑building program and could form a majority with Vox.
- Underlying the drama is a long supply shortfall, a tiny social‑housing stock and rising rents; unions have pledged a 24‑hour national strike this autumn and migration and corruption cases add political pressure on Sánchez.