15/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 15 February, Pedro Sánchez, the head of the Spanish government, called parliamentary elections for 28 April. This announcement is the logical consequence of the Spanish Parliament's rejection of the 2019 draft budget 2 days earlier, eight and a half months after Mr Sánchez (see EUROPE 12032) came to power. He replaced Mariano Rajoy, after Rajoy’s Christian Democratic government lost a vote of no confidence. "If it is a choice between the two options, doing nothing and continuing without a budget, or calling [elections] and giving the Spanish the opportunity to speak, I will choose the second option", said Mr. Sánchez at a press conference. Spanish citizens will therefore go to the polls twice in less than a month, because they will be voting in European, regional and municipal elections on 26 May. (LT)