Spain's Pedro Sanchez calls general election on November 29

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a general election for November 29.

Mr Sanchez made the announcement on Monday after his government was defeated in parliament on Friday in votes for two key housing decrees.

Mr Sanchez spent the weekend consulting with his party and political allies before dispelling doubts and announcing in a ministerial address from La Moncloa that he would go to the polls next month.

Mr Sanchez acknowledged that his government had made mistakes and had not achieved everything it had set out to do.

But he referred to a term in office defined by international challenges and fierce opposition in parliament, insisting that despite this pressure Spain had a growing economy and was “a global example of peace, feminism and prosperity”.

“Spain must decide whether it wants to join the far-right wave rolling back progress or remain a bastion of social justice,” he said.

Opposition parties in Spain say Mr Sanchez has failed the country, where political discourse has become increasingly confrontational as the Socialists face multiple allegations of corruption and criticism over their handling of the Ceuta migration crisis. 

The prospect of an early election was being closely monitored in Gibraltar because the European Parliament is due to vote on the UK/EU treaty on December 14, with the agreement still in provisional implementation.

The early vote in Spain is unlikely to impact on the EU’s ratification process, which is already under way and produced clear indications of wide support for the agreement during a debate last month in the European Parliament.

Even if the vote results in a change of government, the outgoing administration would remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a successor was sworn in, a process that normally takes several weeks.

But a November election would raise questions here about how a right-wing government in Madrid could impact the practical implementation of the treaty and its longevity.

While all sides have so far demonstrated a willingness to make the treaty work, the question for Gibraltar is whether the same level of goodwill would endure under a PP/Vox government in Madrid.

Both the PP and Vox have made clear they oppose the agreement.

The treaty is between the UK and the EU and any failure by Spain to implement its obligations could ultimately engage the EU’s responsibility and trigger the treaty’s dispute mechanisms.

That would place any dispute beyond the cross-border relationship between Gibraltar and Spain.

Recent polls favour a PP/Vox government, with the PP leading and Vox gaining support. A poll by 40dB for El País and Cadena SER on Monday gave the PP and Vox a total of 50% support, with 35.7% for PSOE, Sumar and Podemos.