The leader of the Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has sharply criticised the general strike planned for Wednesday, 11 November 2026. In an interview broadcast on 9 November on the channel Cuatro he called the action “something that does not happen in any country in the European Union” if it was aimed at the parliamentary opposition. He also accused the organisers of having no sensitivity towards citizens. The interview was broadcast on the programme En boca de todos.
Feijóo based his criticism above all on the timing. According to him, the strike would take place “the day after the state ceremony for the victims of the second rail disaster”. However, publicly available dates paint a different picture: according to Onda Cero, the memorial service for the victims of the train crash at Urda is scheduled for Thursday, 12 November, at the Catedral de Toledo . The general strike is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 November. The protest therefore takes place before the state ceremony, not after it.
The organisers cite demands for the right to housing and higher wages as grounds for the mobilisation. Alongside tenants’ groups, major workers’ organisations such as CCOO and UGT and the Sindicato de Inquilinasare among the driving forces, according to consistent media reports. Feijóo accused the government of giving the unions political prominence. He was referring to the Minister of Labour and Social Economy and second deputy prime minister, claiming she was driving the organisations forward; he also suggested she had ambitions to lead the International Labour Organization. These are his assessments; by the time of the broadcast, there had been no confirmation of a formal bid for the post.
His claim that a similar strike against the opposition does not happen “in any country in the EU” is a political judgement. Feijóo offered no systematic evidence for this claim in the interview. He also maintained his accusation that the government had shaped the election calendar to slow investigations in ongoing cases. This, too, is his interpretation of the political process.
What is certain is that the strike call for 11 November and the state ceremony on 12 November have been publicly dated. Only events on Wednesday will show how the protest unfolds and how many take part.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).