Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday called an early general election for April 28, the third in less than four years, after his draft budget was rejected in the Spanish parliament over the Catalan secession crisis. “Between two options – not doing anything and continuing without a budget, or… giving Spaniards their say – I choose the second,” Sanchez told reporters, before announcing the date. On Wednesday, Catalan MPs joined right-wing lawmakers in rejecting his budget. Sanchez has been savaged by the conservative Popular Party (PP), center-right Ciudadanos and more recently small, far-right party Vox. Several opinion polls see Sanchez’s Socialist party winning elections but likely unable to form a majority in parliament, even with Podemos.

Source: Egypt Independent February 15, 2019 13:41 UTC