Saturday’s resignation of Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sánchez was a watershed in Spanish politics. It followed days of drama in which a coup led by prominent party right-winger Susana Díaz attempted to oust Sánchez from his position, only to find itself locked out of PSOE headquarters.

The stand-off was widely interpreted as a debate between those in the party, represented by Sánchez, who refused to facilitate the return of the right-wing PP leader Mariano Rajoy as prime minister and those led by Díaz who would. In the end, the impasse was resolved by a vote of the party’s Federal Committee which Sánchez lost 133 to 109.

Initial reaction in the English-language press has portrayed Sánchez in a positive light. Occasionally drawing comparison with Jeremy Corbyn, he was presented as refusing to facilitate a new PP government out of political principle.