2024-04-25 09:01:48
On Wednesday night, he announced on X that he had canceled public appearances for “a few days” to consider how to proceed. Mr. Sanchez also said he was being persecuted by the right and the far right.
“I have to stop and think”, says the socialist politician in his “letter to the public”. Mr Sanchez wrote that he needed to decide “whether it’s worth it” to continue in office despite the “mud pit” that the right and far right have turned politics into.
The 52-year-old Spanish prime minister said he would announce a decision on Monday.
The organization “Manos Limpias” (“Clean Hands”) filed a complaint with a Madrid court about the corruption and influence-peddling of Mr. Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez. Manos Limpias is a private group that has been promoting right-wing causes in Spain for many years. She accuses Gomez, 49, of using her position as the prime minister’s wife for business purposes. The court did not provide more information, only stating that the investigation “is subject to secrecy”.
Mr. Sanchez and Mr. Gomez have two daughters. The prime minister’s wife does not hold any public office. She is a marketing expert who has worked in banks and NGOs.
The opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) does not believe that the prime minister will resign. PP politician and Senate vice-president Javier Maroto said it was a “new show” being staged by Mr Sanchez, accusing the prime minister of doing anything to stay in power.
Mr Sanchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) was quick to express solidarity.
From 2018 acting Mr. Sanchez said in his letter that the complaint was based on “non-existent” facts and was part of a campaign of “harassment” against his wife led by the “ultraconservative” media and supported by conservatives and the far right.
“I am not naive. I know they have charged Begona not because she has done anything illegal, which they know very well is not true, but because she is my wife,” he added.
Mr. Sanchez, Spain’s first fluent English-speaking prime minister, has pushed for left-wing reforms and brought many women into government. After his party’s abysmal showing in local and regional elections in 2023, he was considered a political corpse, but he surprised everyone by calling an early general election.
His Socialists came second in July’s general election, beaten by the centre-right Popular Party, but Mr Sanchez built a majority in parliament with the support of the far-left Sumar party and smaller regional parties, including Catalan separatists. In return, Catalonia’s two main separatist parties demanded a controversial amnesty for hundreds of people who face trial for their role in the 2017 coup. unsuccessfully seeking independence for this northeastern region.
2024-04-25 09:01:48