Pedro Sanchez has closed the door to a possible coalition with the centre-right Ciudadanos party, which effectively means that the only way that he will be returned to power will be through a pact with far-left Podemos. His announcement during the televised debate between the political leaders on Tuesday will be seen by some as rather short-sighted. I sincerely doubt that Ciudadanos is a threat to the socialist party of Sanchez, so why close the door on their possible support? Opinion polls suggest that Sanchez will win the general election but without a majority. He will have to form a pact with Podemos and possibly other smaller parties, including the Catalan nationalists.
For some, a coalition government of PSOE and Ciudadanos is a dream ticket, but there is little chance of this happening. If Sanchez falls short, then it could lead to a coalition of the right, consisting of the Partido Popular, Ciudadanos and the far-right Vox. These three parties already govern in Andalusia (Vox in a supporting role rather than within government) and it is widely rumoured that they could form similar coalition governments and councils in other parts of Spain if they get the necessary support.
Sanchez has blasted Vox for their anti-immigration stance, but the new party is set to poll hundreds of thousands of votes in the general election at the weekend. A large part of the electorate is still undecided and Vox could be the party which springs the biggest surprise of all.