After his Socialist party suffered a severe defeat in local and regional elections held on Sunday, May 28, 2023, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has unexpectedly called for early general elections on July 23, 2023.
Sánchez had declared, prior to Sunday’s disaster, that he would serve out the remainder of his four-year term alongside his socialist government coalition partner, United We Can and that an election will take place in December.
However, the results of the local and regional elections swiftly altered the situation.
From the presidential residence in Moncloa, Sánchez declared on Monday, May 29, 2023, “I have taken this decision given the results of the elections held yesterday.”
The difficulties for Sánchez and his Spanish Socialist Workers Party, or PSOE coincide with Spain’s scheduled July 1 assumption of the rotating EU chair.
Sánchez declared that he had spoken with King Felipe VI and that a special Cabinet meeting would be held later on Monday to dissolve the legislature. The early election date falls in the middle of Spain’s summer vacation period, when many voters are likely to be out of the country.
Following the municipal and regional elections, Spain underwent a significant rightward shift, with the conservative Popular Party, or PP, emerging as the country’s dominant political party.
Political scientist, Ignacio Jurado from Madrid’s Carlos III University remarked, “This is unexpected. Sánchez is trying to short circuit the PP’s rise as soon as possible.”
The Popular Party, or PP, received 31.5% of the vote in the municipal election, compared to the Spanish Socialist Workers Party’s (PSOE) 28.2%. The PSOE had a 1.2 percentage point drop from 2019, but the PP saw an almost nine point boost thanks to the collapse of the centrist Citizens party.
The PP, led by Alberto Nuez Feijoo, triumphed in seven of the 12 contested regions and dominated in some areas that the PSOE had previously won, notably Valencia, Aragon, and La Rioja. To what extent the PP will be compelled to rely on the extreme right-wing party Vox to create municipal and regional governments remains to be seen.
Additionally, PP won an absolute majority in the region and capital of Madrid, with Isabel Díaz Ayuso being reelected as Madrid’s regional President.
Spain’s regional governments have enormous power and budgetary discretion over education, health, housing and policing
Sánchez Admits That Trend In The Vote Sent A Message
Sánchez admitted that although the elections on Sunday were local and regional, the trend in the vote sent a message.
“I take full responsibility for the results and I think it is necessary to provide an answer and put our democratic mandate to the people,” he remarked.
Sánchez has been in office since 2018, when he brought and won a no-confidence vote against the PP Prime Minister at the time, Mariano Rajoy. He then led the Socialists to a general election victory in 2019.
The poor showing by both the Socialists and United We Can was immediately taken as a dire assessment of public feeling towards the ruling leftist coalition. The new leftist group Sumar, headed by Second Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Díaz, also failed to live up to expectations.
Spanish political expert, Sandra León opined, “Sánchez reacts to a shock with another shock.” León added, “He also avoids deterioration of his party in two ways: the costs of internal division in the government until December and the division with PSOE party barons in the regions.”
She added that the announcement will force the parties to the left of the Socialists; United We Can and Sumar, to regroup fast.
