Abascal beats Sánchez: his interview on 'La Revuelta' attracts 2.6 million more viewers than the one on 'La Séptima'

As of November 10, 2026, the new social measures do not form a single package with common processing: there are decisions approved by the Council of Ministers, decrees pending parliamentary support, and proposals still in preparation. The announcement of extraordinary meetings before the November 29 elections does not yet include a complete schedule or a closed list of initiatives.

Families: announced approval and today's update

The most immediate news is the protection of single-parent families. In the November 9 interview, Sánchez anticipated its approval for the Council of Ministers on the 10th, without specifying requirements or funding, according to Demócrata. Subsequent information from EFE this Tuesday reports that the Executive has already approved expanding protection to these households, large families with few resources, and households with people with disabilities.

According to that information, the estimated scope exceeds 760,000 households, almost three million people, with an annual cost of 820 million euros. That government approval should not be confused with the publication and effective application of each benefit: the sources consulted do not yet specify all the requirements or application dates.

Furthermore, the previous Families Bill expired on October 6 with the dissolution of the Cortes. Therefore, the new decision does not mean that that bill has completed its parliamentary process.

Social protection: measures approved in October

The Council of Ministers on October 20 approved another block of improvements, according to Demócrata. It includes new sick leave situations linked to menopause pathologies and injuries suffered by victims of gender violence; improvements in widowhood and extraordinary pensions for terrorism; protection for orphans of victims of gender violence and people affected by disasters.

It also contemplates expanding coverage of both parents when caring for minors with cancer or other serious illnesses, and extending to 19 weeks the special subsidy for birth and care of the minor for maritime workers. The increase in the advance of the Food Payment Guarantee Fund, from 100 to 300 euros per beneficiary, is also among the announced measures of the package. The complete parliamentary outcome of this block is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Housing: the main pending parliamentary procedure

The two housing decrees approved on October 6 are pending ratification: the vote that decides whether they are maintained or repealed. Demócrata places the session on November 12, before the Permanent Deputation, and notes that the texts have been in force since their publication.

One is the Royal Decree-Law 29/2026, of October 6, on protection of the social function of housing and expansion of affordable supply. It is different from Royal Decree-Law 26/2026, of September, which was repealed. The new block incorporates protection of rent and against evictions, along with financing and actions to increase supply, explained by La Moncloa.

SMI and pensions: different proposals and horizons

Labor proposes raising the 2027 SMI by 5.3%, up to 1,286 euros per month, intending to approve it before November 29; it remains a proposal, not an approved increase (Demócrata). The pension revaluation for 2027 is expected before the end of the year, not necessarily before voting. The constitutional protection of its update is, however, a commitment for the next legislature.

The President of the Government has his own power to convene extraordinary meetings of the Council of Ministers, preside over them, and set their agenda. To convene them, he does not need a prior agreement of the Council itself nor parliamentary authorization. This faculty organizes the work of the Executive but does not allow substituting decisions that legally correspond to the Government as a collegiate body.

Legal basis for the convocation

The express attribution is found in article 2.2.g) of Law 50/1997, of November 27, of the Government. The Constitutional Court confirmed its scope in Order 24/2017: it corresponds to the president to "convene, preside [...] and set the agenda of the meetings of the Council of Ministers." It is a presidential competence, not a faculty that must be previously granted by all the ministers. See Order 24/2017.

Therefore, the extraordinary nature of a meeting does not displace the competence to another body. The decision to convene the Council outside its usual schedule corresponds to the president, within the framework of his function of directing government action.

What the president can decide

• The convocation: he can arrange for an additional meeting to be held when he considers it necessary to submit matters to the Council, without waiting for its next regular meeting.
• The time of the meeting: the power to convene includes organizing when the body meets. This power must be distinguished from the preparation and processing requirements applicable to the matters to be examined.
• The agenda: determines the matters submitted to the meeting. This attribution does not make presidential the competences that the law reserves to the Council of Ministers.
• The presidency of the session: he is responsible for directing it, without prejudice to the provision of article 62.g) of the Constitution regarding the presidency of the King, expressly preserved by legal regulation.

Limits: convening does not mean deciding unilaterally

An extraordinary meeting is still a meeting of a collegiate body. Its denomination does not eliminate deliberation nor allow omitting the substantive or procedural requirements of each decision. The urgency of convening the Executive should not be confused with the legal justification required to adopt certain measures.

Judgment 45/2019 emphasizes that deliberation is inherent to government decisions. It also recalls that presidential acts such as raising a vote of confidence or proposing the dissolution of the Cortes require prior deliberation of the Council. That deliberation affects the subsequent act; it does not constitute prior authorization to convene the meeting.

Electronic convocation and Delegated Commissions

It must also be distinguished between sending the convocation electronically and holding a remote session. Judgment 45/2019 admits the use of telematic means for documentary actions, such as convocations and sending minutes. However, that possibility alone is not enough to justify a telematic meeting: holding, deliberation, and adoption of agreements require their corresponding legal coverage.

Finally, the regime of Delegated Commissions must not be confused with that of the Council. Article 6.1 of the Government Law requires an agreement of the Council of Ministers by royal decree, at the presidential proposal, to create, modify, or suppress them. That organizational requirement is not prior authorization to convene an extraordinary Council, as distinguished by Judgment 110/2021.

Before presiding over Vox, Santiago Abascal developed his career mainly in the People's Party, first in Basque institutions and later in entities of the Community of Madrid. He was a councilor of Llodio, a procurator in the General Assemblies of Álava, and a deputy of the Basque Parliament. His departure from the PP in 2013 preceded his participation in the creation of Vox and his election as president on September 20, 2014.

The first steps in the Basque PP

Abascal began his membership in the PP during the 1990s. The sources consulted differ on the exact year of affiliation —1994 or 1996— but agree in placing his political beginnings in the Basque Country. His activity took place in a context marked by ETA violence; the biographical profile of Demócrata records that he suffered threats from the terrorist organization.

Within the party, he also assumed organizational responsibilities. He was president of the Basque PP's New Generations between 2000 and 2005 and was part of the Provincial Committee of the PP of Álava and the National Executive Board of the party. This organizational facet ran parallel to his first public representation positions, according to reconstructions of his trajectory published by El Diario Vasco and RusSpain.

From municipal politics to the Basque Parliament

His first elected position was as councilor of the Llodio City Council, in Álava. He accessed it in 1999, at 23 years old, and held it until 2007. In 1999 he also began working as an advisor to the Government Subdelegation in Álava. Later he was a procurator in the General Assemblies of Álava between 2003 and 2004, the representative institution of the territory, according to the cited reconstruction of his institutional career.

He then moved to the Basque Parliament as a PP representative for Álava. His presence was not completely continuous: he held the seat between January 2004 and February 2005, and returned to the Chamber between October 2005 and January 2009. Therefore, although some biographies summarize this stage as 2004-2009, there was an interruption during 2005 (biographical chronology).

DENAES and positions in Madrid

In 2006 he promoted the Foundation for the Defense of the Spanish Nation, DENAES, which he presided over for several years. This activity was added to his party and institutional trajectory, with the defense of the unity of Spain as the entity's objective (Telecinco).

After finishing his Basque parliamentary stage, he took on positions in entities of the Community of Madrid. Between 2010 and 2012 he directed the regional Data Protection Agency, during Esperanza Aguirre's presidency. In 2013 he headed the Foundation for Patronage and Social Sponsorship, linked to the Madrid Administration. Unlike his previous seats, these were managerial responsibilities, not positions obtained through citizen election (previous trajectory to Vox).

The break with the PP and the presidency of Vox

Abascal left the PP at the end of 2013, citing disagreements with Mariano Rajoy's leadership on territorial policy, nationalism, and issues related to ETA. He then participated in the creation of Vox, registered at the end of 2013 and publicly presented in January 2014. On September 20 of that year, he was elected president of the formation (Telecinco).