Spain: Pedro Sanchez considers resigning – “Freeze” his program

The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchezsaid Wednesday that he would put his political agenda on hold in order to “stop and think» if he wants to continue to be at the forefront of politics.

In a “letter to the citizens” shared by X, the Spanish prime minister noted, among other things: “I urgently need an answer to the question of whether it is worth it. If I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honor».

Pedro Sanchez’s post comes after a Spanish court announced it had opened a preliminary investigation into the wife of the Spanish prime minister for “exercise of influence” and “corruption”, following a lawsuit filed by an anti-corruption group believed to be close to the far-right.

In his letter, Pedro Sanchez talks about “attacks” that he and his wife receive, Begonia Gomethas well as for “harassment and demolition strategy”.

The Spanish prime minister intends to announce his decision on Monday and will suspend his activities until then.

Where are the investigations against her headed? Gometh

According to the online news site El Confidencial, this preliminary investigation concerns Begonia Gometh’s relations with private companies that had received state aid during the Covid-19 crisis or signed contracts with the state while her husband was head of government.

Her links with the Spanish tourism group Globalia, which owns the airline Air Europa, are under scrutiny, which was looking for a bailout after the severe downturn in air traffic caused by the health crisis. During that time, Begonia Gomet directed the IE Africa Center, an institution linked to the business school of Madrid’s IE University, a position she left in 2022.

According to El Confidencial, the IE Africa Center had “signed a sponsorship deal with Globalia in 2020” and Begonia Gomet had met privately with its CEO Javier Intaglco while Globalia was negotiating its multi-million bailout plan euros with the government.

This plan allowed the granting of €475 million to Air Europa in November 2020.

Asked today in Parliament about this case, Pedro Sanchez said he has confidence in justice.

After the first press revelations about this case, the Spanish right intensified public criticism of the prime minister.

The announcement of the launch of the investigation is “important enough for the head of government to give an explanation to the Spanish”, said Esther Munioth, a member of the leadership of the right-wing People’s Party (PP) today.

“Manos limpias”, founded in 1995, has brought many lawsuits in recent years for corruption cases. It is considered to be close to the extreme right, mainly because of its secretary-general Miguel Bernard, a former official of the Frente Naconal party that disbanded in 1993.

With information from Reuters, APE – MEB, El Pais