Title: Pedro Sánchez Defies Polls, Keeps Options Open to Remain in Power
Subtitle: A master of comebacks, the Spanish president Pedro Sánchez contradicts predictions of defeat, leveraging alliances to stay in the game.
Accustomed to great comebacks, Pedro Sánchez, the president of the Spanish government, has once again defied expectations in his turbulent career. Contrary to pre-election polls that forecasted a defeat for the left, Sánchez’s position, deemed more favorable to forging alliances, has ensured his options to continue in power.
Sánchez, a passionate basketball fan, emphasized his determination in his autobiography titled “Resistance Manual,” stating, “I learned to make an effort until the referee whistles the end of the game.”
Although the long-awaited victory eluded him this time, as his party secured 122 seats compared to the conservative Popular Party’s 136, Sánchez’s position offers a more advantageous opportunity to build alliances. This maneuver has allowed him to survive the risky electoral advance he initiated in response to the left’s setback in the local elections held in May.
Addressing the results with enthusiastic socialist supporters in Madrid, Sánchez explained his decision to call for early elections, stating, “I called the early elections because I believed, as I have always believed, that we as a society had to decide what direction to take.”
Often written off in recent years, Sánchez, with his charismatic smile, affability, and telegenic appeal, has consistently managed to defy political obituaries.
Born in Madrid on February 29, 1972, to a civil servant mother and a businessman father, Sánchez studied Economics in Madrid and Brussels. Though he faced controversy over his controversial doctorate from a private university in Madrid, where he was accused of plagiarism, Sánchez vehemently denied these allegations.
A long-time member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Sánchez became its general secretary in 2014 after emerging victorious in the party’s first-ever primaries. However, he faced a severe setback two years later when an internal rebellion within the PSOE led to his removal from the socialist leadership following the party’s worst electoral results in history.
Undeterred, Sánchez made a triumphant return seven months later, engaging in an extensive campaign across Spain with a handful of loyal followers to win back the support of socialist militants and reclaim party leadership.
His perseverance paid off as he ascended to power in June 2018 through a successful vote of no confidence, uniting the left and even securing support from Basque and Catalan separatists to overthrow the corruption-plagued conservative Mariano Rajoy.
While lacking a stable majority, Sánchez went on to win two consecutive legislative elections in 2019 and formed a coalition government with his former adversaries from the radical left party, Podemos, to remain in power.
Described as a “pragmatic” survivor, Sánchez, a father of two teenagers who leads the Socialist International (IS), has adapted to a variety of situations throughout his tenure. Despite governing in a minority, he has managed to implement significant reforms, including raising the minimum wage by almost 50%, reforming the labor market to reduce precariousness, and passing a law that honors the memory of Civil War victims and the Franco dictatorship.
However, Sánchez has faced criticism and controversies, especially for his government’s association with the radical left and the support received from the separatist Basque party Bildu, a former political arm of the ETA, which has caused unease among some sectors of his own party and affected his image.
As he navigates the political landscape, Sánchez, a former member of the UN’s Bosnia team, must once again charm these formations if he intends to form a new majority and continue governing.
In a career full of twists and turns, Pedro Sánchez continues to be a resilient leader, defying odds, and maintaining his political power amidst changing tides.