Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday the surprise call of early legislative elections on July 23 in Spain, the day after a final rout of the left against the conservatives in a double municipal and regional ballot. In a televised address, Pedro Sanchez announced that he had communicated to King Felipe VI, the Head of State, his "decision to […] dissolve Parliament and proceed with the calling of general elections" to be held " Sunday, July 23."
"As president of the government and as secretary of the Socialist Party, I assume the results (of Sunday) and I think that it is necessary to give an answer and to submit our democratic mandate to the popular will", he said. added. The victory of the conservatives of the Popular Party (PP, right) during the regional and municipal elections on Sunday exceeded the expectations, however optimistic, of the conservative formation.
Of the ten regions governed by the Socialists directly or as part of a coalition and which were at stake on Sunday, the PP won six, including that of Valencia (East), one of the most populous and rich in the country. However, he will have to count on the support of the extreme right of Vox in five of them because he does not have an absolute majority there.
Pedro Sanchez has presided over the Spanish government since June 2018. He then ousted the conservative Mariano Rajoy from power thanks to the filing of a motion of censure following the conviction of the PP by justice in a megatrial for corruption. He has been governing since January 2020 in coalition with the radical left of Podemos.
