Spanish Parliament Urges Sánchez to Quit or Call Early Elections

Spain’s parliament sent a blunt signal on Thursday to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, telling him he should resign or call early elections. In a stormy session, both houses approved nonbinding motions urging him to choose one of three options: step down immediately, submit himself to a confidence vote in the Congress, or call snap general elections.

The lower house passed the motion by 178 votes to 171, a result that highlighted the government’s loss of control over the coalition that brought it to power. The Congress is now formally calling on Sánchez to leave office or, at minimum, prove in a parliamentary confidence vote that he still has majority backing.

Sánchez reacted with visible disdain, appearing unconcerned about the crisis and answering the opposition with irony and mockery. After the vote, he was seen applauding and laughing openly from the government benches. A video circulated online under the caption, “Pedro Sánchez se ríe tras perder la votación que pide que se someta a una cuestión de confianza.”

The approved parliamentary declaration said Spain had become “unmanageable” because of police investigations and media criticism of the prime minister. Spanish political commentators also described the executive as trapped in “institutional paralysis” and weakened in parliament, which is slowing normal lawmaking.

The pressure comes at a critical moment for Sánchez’s Socialist Party, which is facing several corruption scandals. Police are investigating figures close to the Spanish leader, including former minister José Luis Ábalos, party secretary Santos Cerdán, former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and Sánchez’s wife.