Spain’s socialist president, Pedro Sánchez, declared this morning that he will not resign as the country’s leader after a period of reflection on his future.
Sánchez made the announcement five days after a court said it would investigate his wife, Begoña Gómez, for influence peddling and business corruption, accusations he said were false and orchestrated by his right-wing opponents.
The 52-year-old surprised enemies and allies alike when he said Wednesday that he would take several days away from public duties to consider resigning amid the allegations, prompting large demonstrations by his supporters over the weekend.
Spanish politics were thrown into turmoil with the prospect of the prime minister resigning, which could lead to another contentious parliamentary vote to elect a new prime minister or even a fourth general election in five years.
But after meeting with King Felipe VI this morning – a step that would have been necessary if he had decided to resign – Sánchez announced in a televised speech that he had informed the monarch of his decision to remain in office.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, declared this morning that he will not resign as leader of the country.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, makes a statement at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid before the press to communicate his decision to remain in office.
Sánchez made the announcement five days after a court said it would investigate his wife, Begoña Gómez.
‘I have decided to continue, if possible even stronger as prime minister. This is not the same as always, things are going to be different,’ he said in a national broadcast.
Sánchez, in office since 2018, said today that his decision to stay was “decisively influenced” by widespread expressions of support over the weekend.
Thousands of followers gathered in front of the headquarters of his socialist party in Madrid shouting: ‘Pedro, stay!’ and condemning the criticism of his wife.
When news emerged that Gómez was being investigated on Wednesday, Sánchez wrote a four-page letter to the Spanish public, published in X, in which he said he would consider tendering his resignation.
He said the attacks on his wife had “crossed the line of respect for a prime minister’s family life, with an attack on his personal life” and expressed frustration at his “powerlessness” to protect her from the attacks.
“I need to stop and think about whether I should continue to lead the government or if I should give up this honor,” he said.
Speaking today, he denied the move was a “political calculation” and said he needed to “stop and reflect” on the growing polarization within politics which he said was increasingly driven by “deliberate misinformation”.
The head of the Spanish anti-corruption pressure group Clean Hands, Miguel Bernad, surrounded by media, leaves the Madrid Court on April 29, 2024.
‘For too long we have let this crap corrupt our political and public life with toxic methods that were unimaginable just a few years ago… Do we really want this for Spain?’ she asked.
“I have acted with a clear conviction: either we say ‘enough is enough’ or this degradation of public life will define our future and doom us as a country.”
Sánchez previously said that the measure directed at his wife is part of a “harassment” campaign against them waged by “media strongly influenced by the right and the extreme right” and backed by the right-wing opposition.
The prosecutor’s office asked on Thursday that the investigation be closed.
Sánchez, aAn expert in political survival who made a career out of political bets, he suspended all his public duties and locked himself into silence.
The court opened its investigation into Sánchez’s wife in response to a complaint from the anti-corruption pressure group Clean Hands, whose leader is linked to the far right.
The group, which has filed a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said in a statement late Wednesday that it had based its complaint on media reports and could not guarantee their veracity.
While the court did not provide details of the case, the online news site El Confidencial said it was related to his ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser reported that Gómez had received favors from airline Air Europa and its Mallorca-based holding company Globalia during her time as director of the African research center at Madrid’s IE business school.
Last month, Spain’s conflict of interest watchdog filed a complaint claiming there was a link between a government bailout of Air Europa and the “economic and professional ties” of the prime minister’s wife.
People march to show their support for Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid, Spain, on April 28.
Sánchez and Gómez met at a party and have been married since 2006. They have two daughters together, Ainhoa, born in 2005, and Carlota, in 2007.
Gómez has been described as the prime minister’s ‘Achilles heel’, because she is ‘the only person who has been by his side throughout his political and life journey,’ reported the national newspaper El País.
He added that ‘his wife has been part of all the decisions that have marked his career.’
Sánchez has been vilified by right-wing opponents and the media because his minority government depends on the support of far-left Catalan and Basque separatist parties to pass laws.
They are especially angered by his decision to grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists facing legal action for their role in the northeast region’s failed independence bid in 2017.
Supporters gather at a demonstration organized by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) in support of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on April 27, 2024.
That amnesty, in exchange for the support of the Catalan separatist parties, still needs final approval in parliament.
Since Wednesday, the opposition has mocked Sánchez’s decision to withdraw from public duties for a few days, dismissing it as an attempt to rally his supporters.
“A head of government cannot parade himself like a teenager and have everyone running after him, begging him not to leave and not to get angry,” scoffed Alberto Núñez Feijoo, leader of the right-wing opposition Popular Party. Thursday.
Sánchez, he said, had subjected Spain to “international shame.”
Before retiring from public duties for several days, Sánchez was due to launch his party’s campaign on Thursday for Catalonia’s May 12 regional elections, in which his socialists hope to oust pro-independence forces from power.