Spain's Sánchez seeks vote access while traders favor Feijóo as PM by 2028

EL PAÍS reports that Pedro Sánchez asked Spain’s Supreme Court to let descendants of exiles who gained nationality under the “grandchildren’s law” vote in the November election. The court has not ruled. The decision could affect who is eligible to vote, but does not determine who will form the next government. Traders heavily favor Alberto Núñez Feijóo to become prime minister by March 2028.

Feijóo’s prospects rose sharply after Sánchez called an early election on Oct. 5, then fell on Oct. 7 before recovering the next day. The election call followed the government’s defeat on housing measures. Since the last story update, bets moved higher, but that move predates this voting-rights request and its reason is not yet clear. The latest development does not establish a change in Feijóo’s path to office.

The snap election is scheduled for Nov. 29. A 40dB poll published by EL PAÍS on Oct. 9 projected 198 seats for the conservative People’s Party and Vox combined, while finding Sánchez more popular than Feijóo as a potential prime minister. A projected bloc majority could help Feijóo, but would not itself secure the congressional confidence vote he needs. Sánchez’s bid to include more voters is another election-related issue, not a result that decides the contest.

The next milestones include proposed televised debates on Nov. 17 and Nov. 23, followed by the election and negotiations over parliamentary support. Feijóo led the People’s Party to a first-place finish in 2023 but failed to win Congress’s confidence. Whether he can assemble enough support after this vote will matter more to his bid for office than the election result alone.