According to EL MUNDO, the scale of the defeat and the loss of socialist territorial power have forced the president of the government to “assume the defeat in the first person”. The president summons and forces progressives to decide whether to mobilise to prevent a PP-Vox government, or go massively to the voting date and maintain a socialist government at national level.

Institutional statement by the President of the Spain Government calling for new national elections.

Good morning, I will be brief and I will also try to be very clear.

I have just had a meeting with His Majesty the King, in which I have informed the Head of State of the decision to call a Council of Ministers this very afternoon to dissolve the Cortes and proceed to call general elections, using the prerogative attributed to the President of the Government by the Constitution.

The formal call for the elections will be published tomorrow, Tuesday, in the Official State Gazette, so that the elections will be held on Sunday 23 July, in accordance with the deadlines established by law.

I have taken this decision in view of the results of yesterday’s elections.

The first consequence of these results will be that magnificent regional presidents and socialist mayors will be displaced with impeccable management. And this is despite the fact that many of them have seen their support increase yesterday.

The second consequence will be that many institutions will be administered by new majorities formed by the Popular Party and VOX.

And although yesterday’s votes were municipal and regional in scope, the sense of the vote sends a message that goes beyond that.

And that is why, as President of the Government, and also as Secretary General of the Socialist Party, I take the results personally and I believe it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people.

Spain is on the verge of overcoming a period of crisis resulting from the emergence of Covid-19, and also from the war in Ukraine. We are on a clear path of growth, job creation and social cohesion. And at this point in the legislature, the Government has pushed ahead with the major reforms committed to in the investiture speech, in the government programme and also in our agreement with the European Commission.

Furthermore, our country is about to take on a very important responsibility in this geopolitical context that Europe is experiencing, and that is the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

All these reasons, I believe, make it advisable to clarify the will of the Spanish people. A clarification of the policies that the Government of the Nation must apply and a clarification of the political forces that must lead this phase.

There is only one infallible method to resolve these doubts. That method is democracy and, therefore, I believe that the best thing is for Spaniards to take the floor, to speak out without delay in order to define the political direction of the country.

Thank you very much.

You can watch the statment in Spanish below