Pedro Sanchez's reputation as a risk-taker precedes him but his announcement on Monday of a snap election, after a poll setback and as an EU presidency stint beckons, represents the Spanish prime minister's biggest political gamble yet.
"The move has caught us by surprise, but now that we know about it, it is the bold gesture that we need to win," said a minister and senior member of Sanchez's Socialist Party (PSOE), adding that it was fully behind its leader.
