在马德里一名87岁老妇遭驱逐的事件引发公愤后，政府曾提议加强对租户的保护措施。
The government had proposed more protections for tenants after outrage at the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.
上周五，西班牙议会否决了左翼政府提出的旨在强化租户权益的住房法案，这一结果加剧了政治危机，并促使各界呼吁提前举行大选。
The Spanish Parliament on Friday voted down housing legislation proposed by the left-wing government to increase tenant protections, deepening a political crisis and prompting calls for early elections.
该法案原本计划将弱势租户的驱逐行为暂停至2030年。佩德罗·桑切斯总理领导的执政联盟推出此法案，旨在平息因马德里居民玛丽亚·德尔·卡门·阿巴斯卡尔被驱逐所引发的抗议浪潮。
The legislation, which would have suspended evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, was proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling coalition to address protests and outrage spurred by the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old resident of Madrid.
然而，由于该联盟在议会中并不占多数席位，就在投票前夕，一个偶尔与政府站同一立场的加泰罗尼亚小党派宣布不再提供支持，导致法案未能通过。
But the coalition, which does not control a majority of lawmakers, failed to pass the law after a small Catalan party, which sometimes sides with the government, pulled its support hours before the parliamentary vote.
该党派名为‘Junts’，于周四深夜表示希望撤销并重新起草该法案，理由是原草案会‘减少租赁房源供应并推高房价’。此次投票失败也引发了桑切斯领导的社会党内部要求举行紧急选举的呼声——该党目前正饱受移民危机与腐败丑闻困扰，急需一个议题来凝聚民心。
That party, Junts, said late Thursday night that it wanted the legislation to be withdrawn and redrafted because the bill as written would “reduce the supply of rental housing and increase prices.”The failure of the vote led to demands for snap elections from within Mr. Sánchez’ Socialist Party, which has been rocked by an immigration crisis and corruption scandals and is looking for an issue to galvanize its base.
住房问题在西班牙备受关注，尤其是收入偏低的年轻人。由于游客、外来移民及境外富裕买家的涌入，加之公共住房供给不足，当地租金持续上涨，使得他们越来越难以负担住房费用。
Housing is a major concern for Spaniards, especially young people with low salaries who increasingly find it hard to find affordable homes amid rising rents caused by an influx of tourists, immigrants, wealthy foreign buyers and a lack of public units.