Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced the surprise call for snap legislative elections for July 23 in Spain, the day after the left’s recent defeat against the conservatives in a dual local and regional ballot.
During a televised address, Pedro Sanchez announced that he had informed King Felipe VI, Head of State, “Decision (…) to dissolve parliament and proceed with calling for general elections” who will hold “Sunday 23 July”.
sequel after announcement
Severe defeat for Pedro Sanchez’s socialists in the local elections in Spain against the right
Therefore, these elections will be held during the term of Spain’s presidency of the European Council, which will begin on July 1. Legislative elections were initially scheduled for the end of the year at a date yet to be determined. “I made this decision in light of the results of yesterday’s elections.”Pedro Sanchez said, looking serious, from Moncloa Palace, the seat of the Spanish government.
“As head of government and as secretary of the Socialist Party, I bear the consequences of (Sunday) and I think it is necessary to give an answer and present our democratic mandate to the popular will.”he added.
Pedro Sanchez has headed the Spanish government since June 2018. He then ousted conservative Mariano Rajoy from power thanks to the filing of a censure after the People’s Party was condemned by the courts in a massive corruption trial. He has been ruling since January 2020 in coalition with the Radical Left of Podemos. And his party suffered a heavy defeat in the municipal and regional elections that took place on Sunday in Spain, which does not bode well for the continuation of his power.
The People’s Party received the highest number of votes in the municipal elections
The outgoing head of the government of Cantabria (northern Spain), Miguel Ángel Rivela, leader of a small regional party allied with the Socialists, spoke of “right tide”They are both from the People’s Party (PP), the main right-wing opposition party of Alberto Núñez Fijo, and from the far-right Vox party, which is already the third political force in parliament. The head of the socialist government of Aragon, Javier Lampan, went so far as to invoke “tsunami” who was taken away ” the wall “ set up by the Socialists. They both got hit.
sequel after announcement
The People’s Party, which made these local and regional elections a national referendum on Pedro Sánchez’s policy, achieved practically all its goals.
It first received the largest number of votes in municipal elections, more than 7 million (31.5%), or more than 2 million votes in four years, against less than 6.3 million (28, 1%) for the PSOE. (PSOE) by Mr. Sanchez.
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Above all, according to the public television TVE and the daily newspaper El País, the PP occupied no less than six of the ten regions that have so far been (directly or within a coalition) led by the PSOE: the Community of Valencia (East), the fourth in the countries in terms of population, Aragon (center), Extremadura (west), the Balearic Islands (east), Cantabria and Rioja (north).
