– “Spain must decide whether to join the far-right wave or continue to be a bastion of social justice,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez when, at around 9 am on Monday morning, he announced a general election in the country on 29 November.
Sánchez acknowledged that the government has made mistakes, but that it needs to “renew and broaden its support amongst the people” in order to achieve more, reports El País.
This brings the election forward by nine months before the end of the parliamentary term, and the trigger was the government’s failure to secure the support of Catalan separatists to form a majority for a proposed rent reform.
The Spanish Prime Minister was generous with praise for himself:
In his speech, Sánchez summarised the government’s economic and social achievements, such as progress in renewable energy, social rights and the reduction of inequality. He recalled that he had had to deal with unprecedented crises, such as wars and geopolitical upheavals, and that he had ‘fought tyrants, technocratic oligarchs and genocidal rulers’. He also criticised the fact that he has had to face the “worst possible opposition”, namely the PP and Vox, who have even questioned his legitimacy.
He did not think highly of the opposition:
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged the public to choose whether they wish to “join the far-right wave that leads to decline wherever it governs”, or to give Spain a “broader progressive majority” so that “Spain continues to be a bastion of openness and social justice”, a “global model for peace, feminism and prosperity”. “We must mobilise and ensure that parliament gives us a much broader majority capable of compelling the elites to continue transforming Spain,” the Prime Minister added.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who heads the Partido Popular (PP), the long-standing right-wing party that has consistently led the opinion polls, has announced a statement at 10.
The Partido Popular has responded with a terse “At last” to Pedro Sánchez’s announcement that he is bringing forward the election to 29 November. In a social media post, the message is accompanied by a promotional video featuring Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, in which they assure the public that they will ensure justice.
Sánchez is dependent on achieving maximum success in the election campaign to retain power. With the right-wing populist Vox as the country’s third-largest party, the stage is set for a change of government in Madrid.
