Germany

Berlin, October 6, 2026. On Monday, October 5, Pedro Sánchez announced in a televised address early legislative elections on November 29, although the vote was expected in 2027. The Tagesschau sees this as a response to the deadlock of Friday: his housing decrees, which provided for a moratorium on evictions until 2030 and the automatic termination of limited-term leases, failed to pass due to opposition from right-wing deputies. The DW speaks of a "headlong rush" and a "very risky" decision.

The German press emphasizes the arithmetic weakness of the head of government. His minority coalition PSOE-Sumar has not had a majority since Junts, led by Carles Puigdemont, joined the opposition nearly a year ago; the last regular budget dates back to 2023. According to the Handelsblatt, the PP and Vox together total nearly 51% of the vote in polls, compared to just under 27% for the PSOE. The DW mentions around 200 of the 350 seats and notes that there is no "Brandmauer" in Spain comparable to the one erected in Germany against the AfD: the PP already governs with Vox in four autonomous regions.

Housing is presented as the spark. The Tagesschau tells the story of the eviction of an 87-year-old tenant, whose images have gone around the world, an event that provoked "a cry of indignation" in Spain and then elections. It describes Sánchez as an "artist of survival" and recalls that he had already called for a vote in 2023 after a local defeat, before managing to stay in power thanks to the Catalan separatists, which many Spaniards still hold against him.

The FAZ is the most severe. It judges his term as a "dissuasive example" of minority government and writes that he himself risks sinking "into the swamp of corruption", with investigations targeting his wife, his brother, a former close associate, and former Prime Minister Zapatero. According to it, Sánchez hopes that popular anger over rents will bring him voters back: this "social campfire" must dispel the shadows of corruption and the Ceuta crisis. It also recalls his stance as an advocate for the social state against Trump on the NATO target of 5%.

Sánchez has acknowledged mistakes and unfulfilled promises, while posing the choice: Spain joins the "far-right wave" or remains a "bastion of social justice". Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who had been calling for elections for months, launched "Finally!". The Handelsblatt notes that a change of power would bring down one of the last left-wing governments in Europe.