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Spain’s Sanchez: Riding rollercoaster politics

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Eight months after ousting his rival and taking power in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was forced to call early elections Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the survivor politician.

The move comes just days before the 46-year-old economist publishes a book called "Resistance Manual," the first leader in office to do so.

The book recounts the rollercoaster years that saw him lead the socialists to two crushing election defeats in 2015 and 2016, forced out by his party's leadership before being re-elected secretary-general by grassroot activists in May 2017.

Just over a year later, he filed a no-confidence motion against then conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy -- a risky bet given the socialists had just 84 lawmakers out of 350.

But with the help of far-left Podemos, Catalan separatist lawmakers and Basque nationalists, he was able to topple Rajoy and take over, the first time such a motion had prevailed in decades.

- 'From attack to defence' -

Given the 1.90-metre-tall former basketball player's track-record of bouncing back, all bets are off for the upcoming elections on April 28.

Sanchez "sees politics as a basketball game," writes Enric Juliana, deputy director of Spanish daily La Vanguardia.

"He can go from attack to defence in just a few seconds."

Always immaculately suited and booted and with a disarming smile, Sanchez was once dubbed "Mr. Handsome" for his Hollywood good looks.

Born in 1972 in Madrid, he grew up in a wealthy family, his father an entrepreneur and his mother a civil servant.

He studied in the Spanish capital before getting a Master's degree in political economy at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

He then wrote a thesis in a private Madrid university over which he was later accused of plagiarism.

An opposition town councillor in Madrid from 2004 to 2009, he entered parliament, replacing another lawmaker, under Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's administration.

That ended when the conservative Popular Party (PP) swept to power in 2011 with an absolute majority, kicking the struggling Socialists out of power.

But he returned to the lower house in 2013. He went on to become Socialist party chief the next year after winning the first every primary elections organised by the 139-year-old grouping.

- Catalan hot potato -

Once in power in Spain in June 2018, he appointed a government with a majority of women.

He also drew praise in Europe for accepting to take in a charity ship stranded in the Mediterranean with 630 migrants on board after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock.

He also raised the minimum wage by 22 percent after years of austerity.

But he has so far failed to complete one of his pet projects -- to exhume late dictator Francisco Franco from an opulent mausoleum near Madrid.

Sanchez also got embroiled in the hugely cleaving issue of the secession crisis in Catalonia.

Determined to re-start talks with separatists of this northeastern region after a failed attempt to secede from Spain in 2017, he ended up losing their crux support in the national parliament this week.

Catalan lawmakers, along with right-wing parties, rejected his 2019 budget, which prompted the early elections.

And while several opinion polls see his Socialist party winning elections, it would likely not be able to form a majority in parliament with Podemos.

But polls say the PP, centre-right Ciudadanos and far-right Vox would be able to form a majority.

Eight months after ousting his rival and taking power in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was forced to call early elections Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the survivor politician.

The move comes just days before the 46-year-old economist publishes a book called “Resistance Manual,” the first leader in office to do so.

The book recounts the rollercoaster years that saw him lead the socialists to two crushing election defeats in 2015 and 2016, forced out by his party’s leadership before being re-elected secretary-general by grassroot activists in May 2017.

Just over a year later, he filed a no-confidence motion against then conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy — a risky bet given the socialists had just 84 lawmakers out of 350.

But with the help of far-left Podemos, Catalan separatist lawmakers and Basque nationalists, he was able to topple Rajoy and take over, the first time such a motion had prevailed in decades.

– ‘From attack to defence’ –

Given the 1.90-metre-tall former basketball player’s track-record of bouncing back, all bets are off for the upcoming elections on April 28.

Sanchez “sees politics as a basketball game,” writes Enric Juliana, deputy director of Spanish daily La Vanguardia.

“He can go from attack to defence in just a few seconds.”

Always immaculately suited and booted and with a disarming smile, Sanchez was once dubbed “Mr. Handsome” for his Hollywood good looks.

Born in 1972 in Madrid, he grew up in a wealthy family, his father an entrepreneur and his mother a civil servant.

He studied in the Spanish capital before getting a Master’s degree in political economy at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

He then wrote a thesis in a private Madrid university over which he was later accused of plagiarism.

An opposition town councillor in Madrid from 2004 to 2009, he entered parliament, replacing another lawmaker, under Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s administration.

That ended when the conservative Popular Party (PP) swept to power in 2011 with an absolute majority, kicking the struggling Socialists out of power.

But he returned to the lower house in 2013. He went on to become Socialist party chief the next year after winning the first every primary elections organised by the 139-year-old grouping.

– Catalan hot potato –

Once in power in Spain in June 2018, he appointed a government with a majority of women.

He also drew praise in Europe for accepting to take in a charity ship stranded in the Mediterranean with 630 migrants on board after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock.

He also raised the minimum wage by 22 percent after years of austerity.

But he has so far failed to complete one of his pet projects — to exhume late dictator Francisco Franco from an opulent mausoleum near Madrid.

Sanchez also got embroiled in the hugely cleaving issue of the secession crisis in Catalonia.

Determined to re-start talks with separatists of this northeastern region after a failed attempt to secede from Spain in 2017, he ended up losing their crux support in the national parliament this week.

Catalan lawmakers, along with right-wing parties, rejected his 2019 budget, which prompted the early elections.

And while several opinion polls see his Socialist party winning elections, it would likely not be able to form a majority in parliament with Podemos.

But polls say the PP, centre-right Ciudadanos and far-right Vox would be able to form a majority.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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