Spain will hold a snap general election on Sunday, 29 November 2026. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the dissolution of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish Parliament) on 6 October 2026, turning a dramatic political defeat into an immediate electoral confrontation.
Public outrage erupted across Spain following the high-profile, televised eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her long-term Madrid home.
Sánchez has stated he called the election to ask voters for a "much broader progressive majority" to handle key issues.
The Spanish Prime Minister’s party has been investigated for funding a mudslinging campaign against judges, and his government faces separate accusations of pressuring police chiefs to undermine inquiries.
On Oct. 8, Judge Biedma testified that individuals linked to the harassment plot followed her to her daughters' school. In her statement, she detailed alarming episodes where people attempted to impersonate her brother or her secretary (a role she does not actually have). She clarified that these incidents left her highly alarmed.
Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition Popular Party (PP), publicly demanded that Sánchez clarify exactly who authorized the operation to target and discredit Judge Biedma. he added that for years Sánchez was trying to erode the separation of powers and control key state institutions.
The director general of the Spanish Civil Guard (the national police force) is under formal investigation and faces misconduct charges for exerting political pressure on police units to subvert and weaken corruption inquiries involving Sánchez's inner circle.
In May 2026, Spanish National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz ordered a 12-hour police raid on the Madrid headquarters of Sánchez's ruling Socialist Party (PSOE). The raid was part of an investigation into whether the PSOE surreptitiously paid a party member, Leire Díez, to orchestrate a smear campaign to discredit judges, prosecutors, and police officers who simply carried out their duties with integrity.
Judge Pedraz’s court documents accused the party of keeping what resembled a "de facto criminal organization on its payroll" to target the officials investigating Sánchez's family.
This alleged intimidation campaign overlapped with investigations into Sánchez's brother, David Sánchez, who was subsequently convicted in July 2026 of administrative misconduct regarding an irregularly created public music school job and banned from holding public office for nine years.
The judicial probe, led by National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz, is examining an alleged covert operation involving former Socialist (PSOE) militant Leire Díez and former party leader Santos Cerdán. According to court proceedings and a Guardia Civil report filed on October 6, 2026, the plot allegedly aimed to run campaigns to publicly and professionally discredit, threaten, or intimidate judges and prosecutors handling corruption cases that impacted the government.
