Spain's Socialist government faces internal pressure to call early elections over budget deadlock

Former PSOE deputy Elena Valenciano, a leading figure from the Rubalcaba era, warned that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez must call a snap election if he cannot secure approval of the General State Budget. Valenciano also said Sánchez remains politically dependent on former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose support she described as essential for the current leader’s survival.

In the parliament, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo seized the floor to denounce the government's handling of the budget and to echo calls for early elections, noting that the government’s inability to pass the budget would force a dissolution of the Cortes. Feijóo also referenced Zapatero in his criticism and highlighted the ruling party’s declining parliamentary backing. Both opposition figures frame the budget impasse as a trigger for a possible election, underscoring the growing intra‑party and cross‑party tension surrounding Sánchez’s mandate.