One of the most dependable cliches(老生常谈) of contemporary Spanish politics is that it never pays to bet against(跟……打赌从不划算) Pedro Sánchez. Time and time again – as leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) and as prime minister – Sánchez has shown an almost preternatural(超乎寻常的) ability to profit from adversity(从逆境中获利), and to confound expectations(让预期落空) and wrongfoot(使措手不及) his opponents.
当代西班牙政治中最经得起检验的老话之一是：跟佩德罗·桑切斯打赌，从来不会赢。作为西班牙工人社会党（PSOE）领袖和首相，桑切斯一次又一次展现出一种近乎超常的能力——从逆境中获利，让人们的预期落空，让对手措手不及。
But next month’s snap general election, called by Sánchez after rightwing and far-right parties voted down the housing reforms his coalition government had announced in response to angry protests, may suddenly not be the contest it once was.(但下个月的提前大选，或许突然不再是当初那场较量了。这场选举由桑切斯召集，起因是右翼和极右翼政党否决了他领导的联合政府为回应愤怒抗议而宣布的住房改革。)
但下个月的提前大选，或许突然不再是当初那场较量了。这场选举由桑切斯召集，起因是右翼和极右翼政党否决了他领导的联合政府为回应愤怒抗议而宣布的住房改革。
Wednesday’s deadly rail collision, in which at least 69 people died, has, for the moment at least, subdued(压制；使缓和) much of the vicious language and posturing(装腔作势) that has come to characterise(逐渐成为……的特征) recent elections. The crash could sap(削弱) Sánchez’s recently resurgent(重新抬头的) momentum and the issue of rail safety now threatens to overshadow(使黯然失色；盖过) his attempts to defend his record and remain in the Moncloa palace.
周三的致命列车相撞事故造成至少69人死亡，至少就目前而言，这起事故压住了近年来选举中常见的恶毒言辞和装腔作势。事故可能削弱桑切斯近期回升的势头，而铁路安全问题如今可能盖过他捍卫政绩、继续留在蒙克洛亚宫的努力。