The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, communicated on Sunday afternoon by telephone to King Felipe VI his decision to advance the electoral call to next November 29, according to sources from Zarzuela.
This Monday, at 9:00 a.m., Sánchez appeared at the Palace of Moncloa to inform the public of his decision to call for early general elections, after failing to obtain approval last Friday in the Congress of Deputies for the two royal decrees with measures aimed at addressing the housing problem.
In his institutional statement, the head of the Executive emphasized that he has fulfilled his constitutional duty to inform the head of State in advance before proceeding with the call for an extraordinary Council of Ministers this same Monday, in order to dissolve the General Courts and call on Spaniards to the polls on November 29.
Trip of the Kings to Finland and role of Albares
The announcement of the electoral advance coincides with the start this Monday afternoon of the State trip of the Kings to Finland, where they will remain until Wednesday. Although he is outside of Spain, the monarch will have to sign the royal decree that will be published this Tuesday in the BOE and that will formalize the dissolution of the Courts and the call for the elections, a procedure that can be carried out electronically.
Initially, the Kings were to be accompanied on this trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, but he will finally join the trip later, as he will first attend the extraordinary Council of Ministers called by Sánchez, according to sources from his department. From Foreign Affairs, it has been specified that both the King and the Royal House have been informed of this modification.
According to the Moncloa agenda, Albares was scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting in the early afternoon with his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, before accompanying the Kings in the traditional reception of the Spanish community, although it has not yet been specified when he will join the program. The official institutional agenda will begin on Tuesday morning with the reception at the Presidential Palace, where the president, Alexander Stubb, and his wife will welcome the Kings.