Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced snap parliamentary elections in July, hours after his ruling Socialists suffered major setbacks in regional and local elections.
Sanchez said in a nationally televised statement that he had informed Spain s King Felipe VI, head of state, to hold parliamentary elections on July 23 and that an extraordinary cabinet meeting would be held later Monday to approve the decision.
In light of the results of yesterday's elections, I took this decision in light of the results of yesterday's elections, he said.
The conservative popular party won huge gains in Sunday s elections compared to incumbent Socialists in numerous key regional and city governments, including the Valencia regional government in the east of the country and the Seville city hall in the south.
Our country has embarked on a journey of renewing that has now proven to be unstoppable, he said.
In 2018, Sanchez, 51, became Prime Minister after winning a vote of no confidence in parliament against then-conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
In November 2019, Sanchez won a general election, but fell short of a majority. The leftist Podemos party formed a coalition government with the leftist Podemos party on Sunday, which also suffered setbacks in Sunday's local elections.
Following Russia's invasion, Sanchez has been a strong ally of Ukraine, sending tanks, air defense systems and other aid to Kyiv. He has pushed for a progressive agenda, including policies on women's rights and a euthanasia law.
The prime minister is making a complicated chess move, said Andres Villena, a professor at Complutense University in Madrid.
Sanchez's choice to move up the elections could neutralize the honeymoon for the incoming conservative leaders in the local elections, Villena said.
Villena said the snap elections also add pressure on the untested national candidate Feijoo, who became leader of the popular party only last year.
His party won Sunday's vote, but fell just short of majorities in various regional and local governments and the snap poll in July might also dissuade Feijoo from allowing those conservative winners to make local governing deals with the far-right Vox party.
Villena added that the move puts pressure on the leftist Podemos party, the junior member of Sanchez's governing coalition, to make election campaigning deals with another leftist party, Sumar, which could boost chances for the progressives to win seats in July.