Spain Solves Its Housing Crisis by Giving Everyone an Election Instead

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called an early election for November 29 after parliament rejected emergency measures to tackle the country's housing crisis. His decrees included automatic renewal of rental contracts and protection for vulnerable tenants against evictions; the Catalan party Junts, whose votes the government relies on, voted them down. Apparently, preventing people from being priced out of their own cities remains a controversial political ambition.

Spain has spent years watching rents rise while ordinary salaries struggle to keep up. Young people increasingly face the exciting choice between living with their parents indefinitely or spending most of their income on a room barely large enough to contain their disappointment. Meanwhile, property investors continue treating homes as financial products with the unfortunate inconvenience of occasionally containing human beings.

Sánchez argues that stronger government intervention is necessary. His opponents disagree over how to fix the problem, which is excellent news for anyone who enjoys political arguments more than affordable housing.

Rather than resolving the crisis, Spain will now hold another election. Millions of citizens who cannot afford somewhere to live are being offered the wonderful opportunity to vote about it. Democracy provides many things. Apparently, a reasonably priced bedroom is not necessarily one of them.