The call for early parliamentary elections by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday is a major topic in the Western press today.
SPAIN
The Spaniards will vote on November 29. Pedro Sanchez decided to call elections months earlier than planned after he failed to push through two legislative acts on the housing issue in parliament on Friday, writes the newspaper "Pais".
Sanchez said that this governing mandate has been very difficult and called for serious support for progressive forces in the upcoming elections, the Spanish publication notes.
After a weekend of reflection and numerous consultations with members of the government, leading figures from his party and partners from other formations, Sanchez decided to dissolve parliament nine months before the end of his mandate. This time it was not like in 2023, when the prime minister surprisingly called elections just hours after the defeat of his Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in local and regional elections held this year. This time, Sánchez considered his decision for several days and listened to leading figures from the Socialist Party and important members of his government, who said that the current moment was an opportunity to conduct the election campaign in slightly better conditions than later.
Although the election campaign officially begins 15 days before the elections, Spanish politics is entering a pre-election mode. In a sense, it has been in this mode for many months, especially on the part of the opposition, which has not stopped demanding the calling of elections almost since the beginning of the governing mandate, writes "Pais".
Unlike in 2023, the challenge now seems much more serious. Virtually all polls show the right wing will score a landslide victory, with the conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox party set to win more than 50% of the vote, ending eight years of left-wing rule.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called early elections, heeding the opinion of the majority in the Socialist Party and the government. Sanchez is running away from the fact that despite the polls, the duel with the Popular Party is not a foregone conclusion, writes the Spanish newspaper "Mundo".
Sanchez pressed the red button for the elections on November 29 and launched an election battle marked by polarization, writes the newspaper "Vanguardia".
GREAT UNITED KINGDOM
Polarized politics in Spain could guarantee a new mandate for Pedro Sanchez, writes the newspaper "The Times".
The European left is on the verge of collapse, writes the newspaper "Daily Telegraph" in connection with the calling of early elections in Spain.
Sanchez's move creates a risk that the far-right party "Vox" to enter the government and bring to power the most right-wing government since Franco, the British daily points out.
Pedro Sanchez is the undisputed leader of the European left. But his time is running out. The Spanish prime minister has rolled the dice on a snap election that could bring "Vox" into the national government for the first time.
The conservative Popular Party, which is leading in opinion polls, will need "Vox" as a coalition partner if it wants to come to power. That would be a nightmare scenario for Sanchez, who prides himself on his progressive policies.
"This is about Spain defeating Sanchez and everything he stands for," said Popular Party leader Alberto Nunes Feijó after news of the snap election. Feijó is emerging as a favorite to be Spain's next prime minister.
Pedro Sanchez has suffered serious negatives in connection with the migrant crisis in Ceuta and a corruption scandal that implicated some of his closest allies, including his wife and brother.
Sanchez's gamble is seen as a pragmatic action by an experienced politician who takes risks, writes the "Guardian" newspaper. His minority coalition government, which also includes the left-wing "Sumar" coalition, has been in turmoil in parliament since the prime minister secured his hold on power after snap elections he called three years ago without a clear winner and after reaching controversial agreements with parties supporting Catalan independence.
USA
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called early elections after his rule was shaken by a migrant crisis and corruption scandals involving members of his inner circle, the Spanish-language version of the "New York Times" reports.
FRANCE
Pedro Sanchez's call for elections eight months earlier than planned is intended to refute polls that are unfavorable to the Spanish left, or at least to reduce minimum losses for the left camp, writes the newspaper "Figaro".