«The elections will be in 2027.» In his back-to-school speech yesterday before members of the PSOE in the Congress, the Senate, and the European Parliament, Pedro Sánchez did not specify the date of the general elections beyond what was already known. However, his call for his members to «empty themselves», give it their «all», and put in «everything» during «this session period» was interpreted by a sector of the party as a clear sign that he plans to bring them forward to the first quarter.
Supporting this theory — which the Prime Minister himself has hinted at on occasion — is the fact that this Monday he placed special emphasis on his commitment to present the General State Budgets (PGE) before the end of the year, the first of the entire legislature, which will include, according to his details, «the largest investment allocation in the social chapter in history» and will have «housing as a priority». «If you offer a cake, but no one wants to eat it…», the sources consulted point out, assuming with a gastronomic metaphor that they will not manage to gather the support needed to approve them, but that the project will serve as an «electoral weapon» in the ballot box. That the «cake» can indeed be appetizing to offer to potential voters as an electoral program.
Thus, if the ordinary parliamentary calendar deadlines are met, the project for the approval of the 2027 accounts would be rejected by Congress at the end of this year. Since the elections are held 54 days after the publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) of the decree calling them, according to socialist representatives who consider the possibility of an early election, the announcement could be made either at the end of this year or at the beginning of the next, and the vote would take place in the first quarter of 2027.
The holding of the general elections in the early months of next year, according to the interlocutors of this newspaper, would be «out of conviction» and not because several officials, led by the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, have asked that they not coincide with the regional and municipal elections in May to avoid «national-level punishment» like in 2023. Furthermore, it would have as an international backdrop, that is, as a wave that La Moncloa could use to ask for votes, the rise of the far right after the resounding victory this weekend of Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the regional elections of Saxony-Anhalt, the outlook in France, immersed in its presidential elections scheduled for spring with Marine Le Pen (National Rally) as the favorite in the polls, and the result of the midterm elections in the US, scheduled for November 3.
In fact, like in the movie Back to the Future, Sánchez’s car transformed yesterday into a DeLorean in which he entered a date to travel to the past: 2023. In the PSOE interparliamentary meeting, he revived the fear strategy he used on the way to the last general elections held in Spain, dusting off the same message from three years ago: «We are the vanguard of progress against the reactionaries».
Another sign for those who believe the early election will be in the first quarter of the year was that the president asked them for an «effort» with the laws already in process, among which he mentioned reducing classroom ratios, penalizing conversion therapies, protecting minors in digital environments, and regulating lobbies. Even if they suffered «resounding defeats», they believe it would serve to «expose» those who block them and as their calling card.
This request to his members for a final sprint, not to give up, was fueled by the victory of the far right AfD, which yesterday allowed Sánchez to completely overlook the corruption investigations surrounding La Moncloa and Ferraz and focus on the growth of Vox and the alliance that the PP is building with this formation, which is already underway in several communities. «What we saw in Saxony is a warning and a confirmation. The warning that the ultra threat, largely thanks to the surrender of the traditional right, is gaining ground in Europe and the world. And the confirmation that a government like the progressive coalition one in Spain is more necessary than ever.» A preview of that strategy of either them or us, progress or fear.
However, not even behind closed doors did PSOE representatives receive clear information about when the elections will be. In fact, there are also voices within the party who believe it would be advisable to carry the legislature through to July 2027 and try to take advantage of the expected rise of the far right to try to consolidate the image of resistance. «It helps mobilize our electorate,» they acknowledge.
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