Pedro Sanchez called a snap election. Now he’s struggling to rally Spain’s disillusioned left

Detailed summary

For all his campaigning, polls show backing for his party is still hovering around the 26-29 per cent level recorded before he called the election

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When calling a snap election last month, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was betting that anger over housing and anxiety about the far right would rally all shades of the left behind his Socialists.

However, polls and interviews indicate that prospective supporters are too furious about the status quo and the perceived failings of his incumbent administration to oblige.

Widespread protests over a housing crisis, triggered by the September eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, culminated on Wednesday in a general strike that trade unions said brought more than 3 million on to the streets.

"Every generation has its own struggle — for us, that struggle is housing," Sanchez said at his first rally after calling the vote.

As he prepares to face voters on November 29, his challenge is that the protests led by movements even further to his left have moved well beyond accommodation.

"We're really tired of so many things," said Maria Torrena Perez, a 40-year-old primary school teacher at a march in Madrid on Wednesday night.

"We need decent housing. We need a quality public education system. We need a decent healthcare system. Ultimately, they're not investing in what they should be investing in. And we're fed up with the policies being implemented across the board."

Two deadly train crashes, corruption convictions in Sanchez's inner circle and a rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta have all taken their toll on Sanchez's support.

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