Chamber
Congress groups
Popular 137, Socialist 121, SUMAR 26. Together the two coalition parties have 147 of 350.
Country desk · updated 25 Oct
Spain
The seat map is the Congress group table updated on 4 September 2026. It lists Popular at 137, the Socialist group at 121, VOX at 32, and Plurinational SUMAR at 26. It also lists the Republican group at 7, Junts per Catalunya at 7, EH Bildu at 6, the Basque group at 5, and the Mixed group at 9. Those rows sum to 350. A majority of 350 is 176. The Moncloa open-data note names a coalition agreement between PSOE and SUMAR. Those two groups hold 147 seats, so they do not have a majority on this table. Vote shares are the Interior sheet for 23 July 2023, not a figure on the later group table.
Key takeaways
- 1
Polls. PP leads the latest Instituto DYM poll at 34%, 5.8 points ahead of PSOE. Biggest move since 23 Jul: Vox +1.7.
- 2
Headlines. The tone is steady: 10% of the last 14 days' headlines read grim, 10% upbeat. Top topic: Politics (34%).
- 3
Government. Government barometer 50/100 (Mixed record). 0 of 2 moves on file read as smart, 0 as harmful.
Headline mood · 14 days
Line: mood · bars: stories
25 Oct · 5 stories · neutral0 upbeat · 5 neutral · 0 grim
What the headlines are about
- Politics 34%
- Other 24%
- Economy 18%
- Society 14%
- Climate 5%
- Security 4%
A simple word-list estimate from the daily wire headlines. Not a judgement.
Poll trend · Instituto DYM
- PP34%-0.7
- PSOE28.2%+1.9
- Vox18.2%+0.9
- Sumar3.6%-0.9
- Podemos2.6%-1.1
Change against the 24 Sept poll.
Map · mood compared
Spain
Overall mood: 10% grim, 10% upbeat · today +0
What changed today
25 Oct
- 25 Oct: 5 stories (average 7); tone as usual.
- Latest Instituto DYM poll (9 Oct): PSOE +1.9, Podemos -1.1 against 24 Sept.
New headlines
- Real Madrid TV Accuses Barcelona of Refereeing Advantage Before Clásico
With Barcelona topping La Liga on a perfect nine-win streak, Real Madrid TV fired off sharp claims of referee favoritism just days before the Camp Nou showdown.
UnverifiedTrending on X · 24 Oct
- Mourinho Restores Harmony in Real Madrid Dressing Room
José Mourinho stands on the Valdebebas training pitch in white kit, hands in pockets, exuding focus amid the green grass.
UnverifiedTrending on X · 23 Oct
- Messi receives top Spanish award from heir to throne
Lionel Messi received Spain's most prestigious sports award on Friday in recognition of his glittering career and his work for disadvantaged children's access to health and education.
The Local Spain · 24 Oct
- 250,000 rally in Madrid demanding state pension guarantees
Authorities said 250,00 people marched through central Madrid on Saturday demanding protection for the Spanish state pension scheme, one of the hot topics in a parliamentary election next month.
The Local Spain · 24 Oct
- Feijóo leaves door open to governing with Vox and sets out plans to revisit abortion and euthanasia laws
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the right-wing opposition People’s Party (PP), has refused to rule out bringing the far-right Vox party into a future Spanish government, saying his overriding ambition in the general election on 29 November is to remove Pedro Sánchez from office. In a wide-ranging interview with... The post Feijóo leaves door open to governing with Vox and sets out plans to re…
Spain in English · 23 Oct
Earlier this week: 10 more headlines
- Proposed EU budget cut back in search for Christmas deal
Ireland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, suggested Saturday slashing the bloc's next proposed budget by 140 billion euros ($155 billion), in a quest to bridge deep divisions and reach a deal by the end of the year.
The Local Spain · 12 Oct
- Last Ceuta migrant camp removed ahead of Spanish king's visit
Police on Sunday cleared the last major migrant encampment in Ceuta, two days before a visit by Spain's king and queen, AFP reporters at the scene and the interior ministry said.
The Local Spain · 12 Oct
- Miriam González launches Democracia21 with housing and political reform at heart of election bid
Lawyer Miriam González Durántez has launched Democracia21 ahead of Spain’s 29 November general election, promising action on affordable housing and institutional reform while appealing to voters frustrated by the country’s political divisions. The new party was presented in Madrid on Saturday and intends to contest the Madrid and Barcelona constituencies,... The post Miriam González launches Demo…
Spain in English · 13 Oct
- Podemos backs ERC in Catalonia as Spain’s left struggles to agree election alliance
The left-wing party Podemos will not field its own candidates in Catalonia in Spain’s 29 November general election, instead supporting the Esquerra Republicana (ERC) party under an agreement that will see Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián (main image) campaign together. Announced on Monday, the deal has prompted a sharp response... The post Podemos backs ERC in Catalonia as Spain’s left struggles…
Spain in English · 13 Oct
- Spain’s ‘grandchildren’s law’ before the Supreme Court: Who can vote on November 29?
The justices say the integrity of the electoral roll outweighs the voting rights of more than 160,000 naturalized citizens
El País English Spain · 13 Oct
- 'Status quo not good enough': UK and EU set new date for key summit
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that Britain's current relationship with the European Union was "not good enough", as officials confirmed a UK-EU summit will take place on November 20th.
The Local Spain · 13 Oct
- Spain’s Supreme Court keeps overseas voting restrictions in place for 29 November election
Spain’s Supreme Court has upheld restrictions preventing overseas citizens who obtained Spanish nationality through a disputed application of the ‘grandchildren’s law’ from voting in the general election on 29 November, prompting the government to examine a possible challenge before the Constitutional Court. The decision, issued on Monday 12 October, maintains... The post Spain’s Supreme Court ke…
Spain in English · 13 Oct
- Spanish court rules thousands of foreign-based naturalised voters out of election
Supreme Court upholds the suspension of voting rights for those naturalised under the Grandchildren's Law.
The Local Spain · 13 Oct
- Embutidos: A guide to Spain’s cured meats
Meat-lovers rejoice, Spain is a carnivore’s paradise, known for quality products of all kinds, particularly pork. Here are some of the country's best cured meats and what regions they're from.
The Local Spain · 13 Oct
- Why do homes in Spain not have mosquito screens?
Have you ever wondered why mosquito or fly screens are not very common in houses in Spain? What's the reason behind this?
The Local Spain · 13 Oct
Headlines and summaries come from the linked sources; the selection is automatic.
Go deeper
Parties, people, promises, money
350 seats, and the named coalition parties hold 147.
The seat map is the Congress group table updated on 4 September 2026. It lists Popular at 137, the Socialist group at 121, VOX at 32, and Plurinational SUMAR at 26. It also lists the Republican group at 7, Junts per Catalunya at 7, EH Bildu at 6, the Basque group at 5, and the Mixed group at 9. Those rows sum to 350. A majority of 350 is 176. The Moncloa open-data note names a coalition agreement between PSOE and SUMAR. Those two groups hold 147 seats, so they do not have a majority on this table. Vote shares are the Interior sheet for 23 July 2023, not a figure on the later group table.
A score on this desk is an editorial average of six work topics, times ten, with the method written on the row.
The room
Congress of Deputies
350 seats · 176 to govern · groups 4 Sep 2026 · PSOE and SUMAR 147
The deal
Coalition short of a majority
176 seats would be a majority of 350. The Socialist group and Plurinational SUMAR have 121 and 26 on the 4 September 2026 table. That sum is 147. The Moncloa note names those two parties in the coalition agreement and does not add a third governing group on that page.
The mood
Election vs now
The left bar is the share of valid votes on the Interior provincial block for 23 July 2023. The right bar is seats on the 4 September 2026 table divided by 350. They are different counts.
- PP25.5%
- PSOE31.0%
- VOX16.6%
- SUMAR5.7%
- Mixto0.0%
- ERC2.5%
- Junts0.7%
- Bildu1.3%
- PNV0.7%
The first point is the national vote share on the Interior sheet for 23 July 2023, rounded to two decimals. The later points are the CIS estimate of the valid vote, not the direct answer in the survey. July is study 3571, fieldwork 1–6 July 2026, 4,020 interviews. September is study 3577, fieldwork 1–4 September 2026, 4,042 interviews. A sample is not the same question as votes cast. The Mixed group was not a list in either estimate, so its bar is empty.
The trend
From election night to now
Public pollster blend — not a forecast
The split
Seat share beside the 2023 vote
The right bar is seats divided by 350. The left bar is the national vote share. The later group table and the vote sheet are different counts.
The mismatch
Seats they hold vs the poll
The seat bar is the 4 September 2026 headcount, divided by 350. The other bar is the CIS September 2026 estimate. An empty bar means that estimate did not print the group as its own list.
The rude gauge
Growth king or a fight with work
Who grows the pie, who picks a fight with work. Cabinet sits at 50 / 100. The number is an editorial reading, not an official index. Six topics are averaged and multiplied by ten: energy supply, hiring, keeping and investing money, building, hours in paid work, and paperwork. Ten means the public record makes that easier for work. Zero means it makes it harder. A row with no cited party and no personal statute stays at the middle and is labelled not scored. The band is a label for that average, not a court ruling.
Against the workMixed recordGrowth king
Full causal chains live on every promise
This week
The pulse
Office
Offices
The composition page names Pedro Sánchez as Prime Minister. The control-session note names Feijóo of the Popular group.
Politics 101
How this country actually works
What this chamber drawing is
350 seats. 176 to govern. The parties named in the coalition note have 147.
Counts are the Congress group table updated on 4 September 2026. The rows sum to 350. 176 is half of 350, rounded up. Vote shares are the Interior sheet for 23 July 2023, rounded to two decimals from the provincial block of 24,688,087 valid votes. Residents abroad sit in a separate block and are not added. The Mixed group was not one election list.
Who holds the offices this desk names
Sánchez, Prime Minister. Armengol, Congress president. Feijóo, Popular group.
The composition page names Pedro Sánchez and the deputy prime ministers, and does not print a party beside those names. The presidency page names Francina Armengol. The 9 September 2026 control-session note names Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the Popular group.
Elections
What is on the calendar
National elections and the major votes on these desks, for about the next 24 months. The date comes from the election authority. A poll appears only when a named pollster published it in the last 60 days.
Spanish general election
Expected
Expected by September 2027
No polling day is set. Royal Decree 400/2023 called the last general election for 23 July 2023 (https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rd/2023/05/29/400). Article 68 of the Constitution ends the Congress mandate four years after that election, on 23 July 2027, and the next election falls no later than 60 days after that, by 21 September 2027.
Date source: Constitución Española, artículo 68
Voting intention
Instituto DYM
Fieldwork 16 Sept 2026 – 21 Sept 2026 · Published 24 Sept 2026
DYM for 20minutos. Estimate if a general election were held today. Fieldwork 16–21 September 2026, published 24 September 2026. Parties named in that article.
- PP34.7%
- PSOE26.3%
- Vox17.3%
- Sumar4.5%
- Podemos3.7%
How foreigners are seen
Openness in Spain
Published surveys only. Each figure shows its source and year.
Who's welcomed
Share of adults in Spain with a favourable opinion of each country Pew asked about.
Openness score
Three separate measures, each in its own year. We do not blend them.
Gallup, 2016
MIPEX, 2024
What expats say
InterNations Expat Insider 2025: rank out of 46 destinations, 1 is best.
- Ease of settling in13 of 46
- Culture and welcome7 of 46
- Local friendliness17 of 46
- Finding friends13 of 46
In plain words
- Expats ranked Spain 13 of 46 for ease of settling in (2025); its best sub-score was culture and welcome at 7.
- Of the 3 countries Pew asked about here, China drew the most favourable opinions (37%, 2025).
- Favourable opinions of United States went from 52% in 2019 to 31% in 2025 (Pew).
Sources and method
Pew asks adults for their opinion of a country. That is a view of the country, not of its people or of any visitor. We never estimate a pair that was not asked.
InterNations ranks come from expats living in the country (46 destinations). Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index runs from 0 to 9. MIPEX scores integration law and policy from 0 to 100.
- Pew Research Center, Spring 2025 Global Attitudes Survey, topline (June 11, 2025), Q3a opinion of the United States · checked 2026-10-19
- Pew Research Center, Spring 2025 Global Attitudes Survey, topline (July 15, 2025), Q3b opinion of China · checked 2026-10-19
- Pew Research Center, Spring 2025 Global Attitudes Survey, topline (June 23, 2025), Q3f opinion of Russia · checked 2026-10-19
- InterNations, Expat Insider 2025 survey report: The Complete Ease of Settling In Index (46 destinations, 10,000+ respondents) · checked 2026-10-19
- Gallup, 2016
- MIPEX, 2024
What it means for you
What it means for you
Only figures with a source, a date, and a link. Anything not listed here is not on file.
Work
Royal Decree 126/2026, in the official gazette, sets the interprofessional minimum wage for 2026 at 1,221 euros a month, or 40.70 euros a day. The annual comparison floor printed in the same article is 17,094 euros.
Boletín Oficial del Estado, Royal Decree 126/2026, 2026-01-01 Source
Taxes
Article 90 of the consolidated value-added-tax law, last updated on the official gazette page on 28 February 2026, says the tax is charged at the general rate of 21 percent, except where the next article says otherwise. Value-added tax is the tax on most goods and services.
Boletín Oficial del Estado, Law 37/1992, consolidated, 2026-02-28 Source
Benefits
Royal Decree 241/2026 prints the 2026 minimum for a contributory retirement pension. A holder aged 65 with no spouse, counted as a one-person household, is listed at 13,106.80 euros a year. Economic effects run from 1 January 2026.
Boletín Oficial del Estado, Royal Decree 241/2026, 2026-01-01 Source
Sources, licences and image credits
Data
- Wire (public RSS feeds): X, The Local Spain, Spain in English.
- Polls: Instituto DYM Source.
- The left bar is the share of valid votes on the Interior provincial block for 23 July 2023. The right bar is seats on the 4 September 2026 table divided by 350. They are different counts.
- Editorial economic-competence gauge, not a court and not a Nobel. Six axes: energy, hiring, capital, building, hours in work, red tape. Scores are a judgement from public records of this term and the last — not a bribery charge, not a voting recommendation.
Survey sources
- Spain — Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index 2016: Gallup. Neli Esipova, John Fleming and Julie Ray, “New Index Shows Least-, Most-Accepting Countries for Migrants”, Gallup, 23 August 2017. The full-country table lists Spain at 7.44. The survey-methods note says the index was asked in 138 countries in 2016, so the year used here is 2016. A later Spain score was not on that page. Source. Gallup allows a contextual citation when the publication date and a link are given. The table and graphics are not reproduced.
- Spain — MIPEX overall score 2024: MIPEX. Migrant Integration Policy Index, Spain country page, headed 2024. “MIPEX Score (with Health): 64.” The page also says Spain scores 64 on the 100-point scale. Source. The overall score is cited from the country page. The report is not reproduced.
Image credits
- Popular Party mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Socialist group mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- VOX mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Plurinational SUMAR mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Mixed group mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Republican group mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Junts per Catalunya mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- EH Bildu mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Basque Nationalist Party mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Flag of Spain — RelShot 263 and Echando una mano · Public domain Source
Questions the desk actually answers
FAQ
Questions the desk actually answers
- Is the Spain desk live on Nation Runner?
- Yes. It draws the Congress group table updated on 4 September 2026, the Interior vote sheet for 23 July 2023, and the Prime Minister, Congress president, and Popular group deputy named on official pages. It is an editorial dashboard, not an official record.
- Which culture figures does the Spain desk show?
- Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index for Spain in 2016 (7.44 out of 9) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index score of 64, with 2024 printed beside that score. The Pew Spring 2025 row already on the perceptions page is cited there.
- Does the money tab score Spanish political financing?
- No. Zeros mean the access scale is not filled. A zero is not a finding that a party has no donors.
How we source this
Seats: Congress group table, updated 4 September 2026. Votes: Interior sheet, 23 July 2023. Ballot support: CIS studies 3571 and 3577. Offices: the composition page, the Congress presidency page, and the control-session note of 9 September 2026. Culture: Gallup 2016 and the Migrant Integration Policy Index headed 2024.