Spain was stunned last week as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez temporarily withdrew from public life — plunging into five days of official silence as he considered whether to resign. Spaniards were gripped by speculation about whether the center-left leader had reached a breaking point, after he published an emotional open letter admitting his doubts about “whether it is worth [continuing].” Sánchez’s dramatic move came as a Madrid court opened an obviously bogus criminal investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, on allegations of trafficking political favors.

The speculation ended on Monday, as Sánchez announced that he will remain in post. But his confidence in his future — and his hint he could even fight the next general election — also suggested that there had been a political calculation behind his gesture. Sánchez was looking to take back the political initiative from the Spanish right after months on the defensive by kickstarting a national debate on “regenerating democracy.”

Once again, he cast himself as the Left’s progressive champion battling with reactionary forces in the media and justice system. Few other center-left politicians in Europe are capable of playing the left-populist card, even opportunistically. But a flash opinion poll saw Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) getting an immediate 6 percent boost — and demonstrated his ability to appeal to voters well to his party’s left.