Junts votes down decrees, leaving Sánchez without a majority

Junts' rejection of the decrees opens the path to an election

Junts has said no. The refusal by Carles Puigdemont's party to back the government's decrees leaves the executive without the votes it needs to pass them and reopens, once again, the underlying question: can Pedro Sánchez hold on until 2027, or will he call an election sooner? The conclusion running through the analysis is that Sánchez is caught "between a rock and a housing crisis", trapped between his coalition partners and his own narrative. And with the open question of how long it will take him to make a move.

What peine with the decrees Junts rejected?

Junts voted against the government's two decrees, including the housing measures package, snapping the rope that held the majority together. The immediate reading is blunt: no budget, no answer on housing, and no state of Ceuta, three open fronts at once. On the other side, the argument is that the blockage is the opposition's fault, as it voted as a bloc against the measures. The dispute over who is to blame is, in reality, the axis of everything else.

Part of the analysis focuses on the arithmetic: seven votes appear as the figure that makes or breaks parliamentary balances. Junts presents itself as the partner that will not budge, having done what the PNV did not do back in the no-confidence vote against Mariano Rajoy, as one participant points out.

The housing decree and the street that never sleeps

The rejected text included measures on rentals, and that is where the debate turns uncomfortable. Some argue the law would drive up rents and scare off landlords; others point out that without it, tenants remain unprotected. In between, the recurring scene: people sleeping in tents in Sol and residents of Ceuta with no answers. The housing crisis is no longer a chart, it is a camp.

The most repeated criticism is not aimed at Junts but at the government itself. Eight years is a long time, and the argument is that legislation has been rushed, poorly drafted and passed without debate, only when time was running out. It is recalled that the left governed municipalities where evictions continued. The conclusion drawn is a bitter one: each bloc points at the other while the rental waiting list does not move.

A genuine rejection or electoral propaganda?

There is an uncomfortable thesis gaining ground: the decrees did not exist ten days ago and perhaps will not exist next week. On this reading, their purpose was the announcement, not the law, and the rejection serves both the government and the opposition in building a narrative ahead of the ballot box. If they are republished on Saturday and voted on Tuesday, the show repeats itself; if not, only the photo remains.

Not everyone sees it the same way. Against the theatre, the counterargument is that the blockage has real consequences: no decrees means no measures, and without measures, those who cannot pay the rent remain on the street. That part of the analysis does not believe there is a strategy, just a plain inability to add up votes.

Elections: 28N, 2027 and a calendar nobody sets

The electoral hypothesis hovers over everything. 28 June 2027 is mentioned as the date some participants have in mind for the end of the term, though nobody rules out an early vote. The prediction made in one message is that Sánchez will hold on until the numbers force him out, and will only call an election when a defeat leaves him without a real majority. Meanwhile, the calendar remains open and no party has announced moves.

Whether there will be an election depends on a fragile balance: one more defeat, a partner getting tired, a decree that never comes back. With the current numbers, no early vote has been announced and the date of the ballot remains unset.