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Politics Spain

Spain's snap general election

Spain votes in a snap general election on Nov 29. On Nov 11 millions joined the first general strike in 14 years, called by CCOO and UGT over housing costs and wages; most recent polls show the PP ahead without a majority, with Vox third.

Confidence: medium. The election date, the Nov 11 strike call and Puente's resignation are reported the same way by Al Jazeera, Euronews, Catalan News and AFP. Polls differ on the size of the PP lead and one puts the PSOE first, the cause of the Urda crash is under judicial investigation, and no figures on strike turnout had been published as of the evening of Nov 10 (US Eastern). · Updated 11 Nov 2026, 2pm ET

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Why it matters: Housing is at the center of the Nov 29 vote: the Bank of Spain estimates the country has 750,000 fewer homes than it needs, and the Spanish Youth Council puts average rent at 1,176 euros a month against an average young person's salary of 1,190 euros. source

What's happening

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE called the early vote on Oct 5 after parliament rejected his minority government's housing relief measures, amid protests over rents that spread after an 87-year-old Madrid tenant was evicted following a rent rise and later died. His main challenger is Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the PP; Al Jazeera reports that the PP could govern with Vox, which it describes as far-right and which would be the first such party in Spain's national government since the Franco dictatorship ended in 1975. On Oct 28 a Renfe high-speed train hit a stopped Iryo train near Urda, in Toledo province, killing 69 people, nine months after a derailment near Adamuz, in Córdoba province, killed 46 on the same Madrid-Seville line. Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned on Nov 3 and dropped out of the election, First Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo is running the ministry in the interim, a court is investigating the crash, and AFP reports that the European Public Prosecutor's Office is examining possible misuse of EU funds meant for the line's safety and signalling systems. CCOO and UGT, with smaller unions and tenants' groups, called the Nov 11 strike under the slogan 'wages, housing, prices', seeking pay rises of 4% to 7% and a minimum-wage rise of at least 7% in 2027; Al Jazeera says it is the pair's first general strike since 2012. Feijóo and Vox leader Santiago Abascal urged the unions to call it off, saying it targets the opposition, and UGT leader Pepe Álvarez said their warnings sounded like threats. Of nine nationwide seat projections published from Oct 25 to Nov 5 and listed by the Catalan News Agency, eight give the PP the most seats, none gives it the 176 needed for a majority on its own, and one, by SW Demoscopia for La Séptima, puts the PSOE first. Sumar's successor list, Frente Amplio, gets 5 to 17 seats in those projections.

What changed recently

Key figures

29.7% / 27.3% / 18.6%PP / PSOE / Vox vote estimates in a Sondaxe poll for La Voz de Galicia (fieldwork Nov 2-4, 1,200 interviews)Sondaxe, as reported by Demócrata · 2026-11-08 · source
117 to 140PP seats across nine nationwide projections published Oct 25 to Nov 5 (a majority is 176)Catalan News Agency (ACN) roundup of published polls · 2026-11-07 · source
69People killed in the Oct 28 high-speed train collision near UrdaReported by Catalan News, Euronews and Al Jazeera · 2026-11-04 · source

What experts say

Their views, summarized in our words.

Sources