Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called a snap general election for November 29, following parliament's rejection of housing relief measures proposed by his minority government.
Sanchez announced the date in a televised address on Monday, saying the government needed a renewed mandate.
"We need to renew people's support," he said. "We need to mobilise and win a much larger progressive majority in parliament, one that will allow us to overcome vested interests, deliver new social advances and continue transforming Spain."
He also acknowledged shortcomings during his time in office. "I also know that part of that social majority is dissatisfied today," he said.
Parliament's defeat of the government's housing decrees on Friday was the latest in a series of political setbacks for the centre-left leader. It was followed by mass protests across the country over the housing crisis.
The government said more than 70,000 people took part in a housing protest in Madrid on Saturday.
Anger over housing had been building since late last month, when an 87-year-old woman, Maria del Carmen Abascal, was evicted from her home of 70 years in Madrid after an international investment fund bought her building and raised the rent.
Calling an early election carries significant political risk for Sanchez. Opinion polls suggest that a coalition led by the conservative People's Party, with support from the far-right Vox party, is the most likely outcome.
If that coalition wins, it would mark the first time since the death of dictator Francisco Franco that a far-right party has entered central government.
A Sanchez defeat would also end one of Europe's last left-leaning governments at a time when far-right parties continue to gain ground across the continent.
Sanchez has governed through a series of fragile coalitions, ranging from the far left to the separatist right, across three successive terms spanning eight years. He has never won enough votes to form a majority government outright.
The next election had originally been scheduled for next year before Sanchez moved it forward.
