Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez calls snap election after crushing defeat in regional polls

Announcement came after conservatives inflicted heavy losses on the governing Socialists in Sunday’s polls

Sanchez arriving in Brussels this morning for a EU summit (AFP/Getty)

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap election following a crushing defeat for his coalition government in the regional polls which cast doubt on his political future.

The snap election, which will take place on 23 July, was announced after conservatives inflicted heavy losses on the governing Socialists in Sunday’s polls.

The announcement will be seen as an attempt to limit internal plots to oust him ahead of the polls, originally understood to be taking place in December.

"Although yesterday’s elections had a local and regional scope, the meaning of the vote conveys a message that goes beyond that," Sanchez said in a televised speech. "I believe it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people."

Sánchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and its far-left ally Podemos both suffered in Sunday’s polls, with the latter losing ground across the country. If a similar performance played out at a national level, the conservative People’s Party (PP) and far-right Vox could see both Sánchez and his party unseated.

Sunday’s elections could see PP take as many as eight regional governments from PSOE, though the results are largely dependent on whether the party decides to form an alliance with Vox, whose leader, Santiago Abascal, has remarked that it is “here to stay.”

Vox is “here to be decisive in the construction of the alternative Spain needs”, Abascal stated earlier on Monday, confirming that he was open to forming national and regional governing coalitions with the PP.

Asked if he would offer the deputy prime minister job to PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo if Vox came first in the national election, Abascal replied: "If we get a majority, yes". He similarly described Sánchez’s administration as “over.”

Meanwhile, Sánchez’s PSOE experienced a notable loss of support in the regions of Valencia, Aragon and the Balearic Island, alongside the southwestern region of Extremadura.

Comparatively, the PP won a majority in Madrid under local leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso, as was also the case in Valencia and Seville.