Housing and financing top of agenda as PM Sánchez meets with regional presidents

On Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and regional presidents from across Spain will head to Santander, in the northern region of Cantabria, for the XXVII Conference of Presidents.

The meeting comes at a time of strong political polarization due to pressure from the conservative People's Party (PP), which has been focusing its speeches on the Socialists' judicial agenda for days.

The Spanish government hopes that the summit will help address a specific issue, the housing crisis, while regional financing, immigration, and healthcare resources are also expected to be priorities for the central executive.

However, many of these issues agreed upon in a preparatory meeting on October 28 have been overshadowed in recent weeks by the floods and damage in Valencia, and the almost immediate clash between the Spanish government and the opposition.

Catalan chief Salvador Illa, also from the Socialist Party, said he was heading to the meeting with a "constructive attitude" despite the hostility from conservative opponents, particularly on the issue of the new financial model for Catalonia agreed between the Socialists and pro-independence party Esquerra Republicana.

The conference does not meet on a fixed basis, yet it remains the highest political meeting for cooperation between the state and the various regional administrations.

Its purpose is to debate and adopt agreements on matters of special relevance to the autonomous system, although this year progress on political issues may be stalled due to the tensions between the central executive led by the Socialists and the various territories, especially those governed by the right-wing.