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Mark Nayler
Friday, 26 December 2025, 12:47
It sometimes seems absurd that Spain has a Socialist-led government. Pedro Sánchez's party lost the last general election in 2023, coming second to the Partido Popular (PP). It now occupies 121 seats in the national congress, compared to the PP's 137. Twelve of the country's seventeen autonomous regions - containing around 69% of Spain's 49 million population - are controlled by the PP, either by itself or in partnership with Vox. Increasingly, the national government resembles a gang of impostors, faking its way through a stolen third term. Or a community of squatters that can't be evicted from Moncloa.
That impression was reinforced last weekend, when the Socialists posted their worst-ever result in Extremadura, traditionally one of its strongholds. The PP, which took control of the north-westerly region in 2023, failed to secure the 33 seats needed for a majority, upping its share by just one to 29. But Vox doubled its presence, from five to eleven, and the PSOE lost ten seats. The Socialists now occupy just eighteen of the Extremadura assembly's 65 seats. United for Extremadura, a leftist alliance, upped its seats from four to seven - but the PP still holds more than both of the region's leftist parties combined.
In the first half of 2026, three other Spanish regions will hold votes, although these are unlikely to bring any nasty surprises for Sánchez. Andalucía, Aragon and Castilla y León are already ruled by the PP and will probably remain so (here in Andalucía, however, a scandal focused on breast cancer screenings might have damaged the PP's chances of re-election).
The Socialists' candidate in Extremadura, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, will stand trial next year for influence-peddling, in connection with a case centred on Sánchez's brother David, who is up against the same charges. Gallardo described last Sunday's result - which was surely a reaction to the recent corruption and sexual misconduct allegations against the national government - as "really bad". It ought to prompt Sánchez's resignation and a snap general election.
Sánchez has only considered resigning once, at least publicly. That was last April, over a silly case against his wife that even the plaintiff, a self-styled anti-corruption group called Manos Limpias, admitted was shaky. Issues of genuine importance - such as fraud allegations against his most senior advisers, and his party's disastrous performance in regional elections - have failed to budge him. But even someone as addicted to power as Sánchez is surely not immune to impostor syndrome.
Now another region has spoken, and the message is clear. The Socialists aren't welcome at the party. Over the last few years, they've been quietly escorted off the premises in most parts of Spain. It's time for Sánchez to ask the nation if it wants him gone too.