When Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election last month, he was betting that anger over housing and fear of the far right would rally all shades of the left behind his Socialists.
But interviews and polls suggest that many potential supporters are too furious about the status quo and the perceived failings of his own incumbent government to oblige.
The eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in September, and her subsequent death, triggered protests against a housing crisis that culminated in a general strike which unions said brought more than 3 million on to the streets on Wednesday.
“Every generation has its own struggle — for us, that struggle is housing,” Sanchez said at his first rally after calling the vote.
His challenge as he prepares to face the electorate on November 29 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.
For all his campaigning, polls show backing for his party is still hovering around the 26%-29% level recorded before he called the election.
Without a shift in the next two weeks, an alliance between the conservative People’s Party and far-right Vox, a hardline nationalist party championing tighter borders and deregulation, is seen as the most likely next government.
Interviews with left-of-centre politicians, activists and voters suggested that for many, disillusionment with the status quo outweighs the urge to keep the far right out.
