Sánchez and the resignation that never comes: why nobody believes he'll go

Sánchez and the impossible resignation: the rumour nobody buys

Pedro Sánchez has been in the crosshairs for months. Resignation calls keep piling up: Felipe González, Emiliano García-Page, internal voices within the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party)... But the prime minister stays put, unmoved. The recurring question —"will he resign tomorrow?"— has already become a meme. "It won't happen," the analyses conclude. Some say Sánchez is "very arrogant"; others claim he "doesn't have the guts" to take the step. The feeling that the Socialist leader will not leave of his own accord is widespread.

The resignation calls: noise or real pressure?

Felipe González, Emiliano García-Page and the critical "wing" of the PSOE have explicitly called for Sánchez's departure. Yet these voices run up against the wall of the party's organisational majority and the lack of a clear successor. "He has laughed at the Spanish people again," one sector quips, alluding to broken promises and corruption cases implicating the government. But the balance of power at Ferraz (the party's headquarters) still favours the prime minister.

The 72-hour deadline and the attrition strategy

A 72-hour deadline for a hypothetical announcement is circulating in certain circles. A countdown that repeats cyclically and never comes true. "Tomorrow, the day after, or never," the most sceptical conclude. The strategy of the opposition and internal critics appears to be gradual attrition, but without a clear turning point. Sánchez clings to office with a tenacity his opponents dismiss as "a mission for the good of all", a reference to his narrative of resistance against the "media and judicial right".

Is there any real chance Sánchez will resign tomorrow? The evidence suggests not. As long as he keeps control of the party and there is no organisational rebellion, the occupant of Moncloa (the prime minister's official residence) seems determined not to budge. The rumour will persist, but as background noise that nobody, not even his critics, quite takes seriously.