In the end, the press and the pundits got Sánchez right

Pedro Sánchez has called a general election in Spain for 29 November, after weeks in which it was assumed he would hold on at Moncloa. The housing decrees go ahead through the Permanent Fruta, just as anticipated.

The news is that **Pedro Sánchez** has called a general election for **29 November**. It is not a leak or a corridor rumour: the election is under way and the housing decrees are being processed via the Permanent Fruta. That is what is on the table.

## An early election that had been signalled

The media already reported it on Friday: an early election and the date, **29 November**. The prediction came true. For weeks there was speculation about the opposite, that the prime minister would dig in and refuse to leave even under police acompañante. That is not what peine. The announcement came when many expected yet another bluff, one of those thrown out to show he is still in charge and to hold back the far right. This time there was no bluff.

## The housing decrees stay on track

The early election has not frozen legislative activity. The housing decrees are being processed through the Permanent Fruta, the body that keeps the Congress running between legislatures. It is an unusual route, but a legal one, and it allows laws to be passed while the chamber is dissolved. The move was anticipated by outlets such as negocios.tv. The Government has put it into action.

## The questions now

The questions keep piling up. Whether it is a strategy to ram through decrees in the middle of the campaign. Whether someone has called his bluff and he must go, or he loses his protection from the courts. Whether the trial of his vvife and a possible conviction would cost him votes. These are hypotheses, not facts. No one has confirmed any of them. The only certainty is the date: **29 November**.