Latest news with #JoséLuisÁbalos
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Spain: Embattled Sánchez resists clamour for resignation
Seven years after taking office by ousting corruption-ridden conservatives from government, Pedro Sánchez is fighting for his political life amid investigations into alleged graft in his Socialist party (PSOE).On June 12, an ashen-faced prime minister apologised to Spaniards after audio gathered by civil guard investigators was made public and appeared to show the PSOE secretary, Santos Cerdán, discussing commissions paid by companies in exchange for public contracts.Sánchez has not himself been directly implicated, but the Socialist leader who came to power promising to clean up politics is now facing calls to resign from an invigorated who was party number three, has resigned from the PSOE and stepped down as a member of parliament. He is due to appear before the Supreme Court on 25 June. He maintains he has never committed a crime nor been implicit in one. The investigation into commissions is part of an ongoing probe which has already implicated José Luis Ábalos, a former PSOE secretary and transport minister. A third person implicated is Koldo García, an advisor to Ábalos. Both men featured with Cerdán in the recently exposed audio. All three say they have done nothing investigation into Ábalos, which began last year, was damaging for the government but his exit from the cabinet and the PSOE secretary post in 2021 put distance between him and Sánchez. However, the implication of Cerdán is more problematic.Sánchez had repeatedly defended him in the face of claims in the right-wing media over recent months that he was under investigation, and the prime minister even accused the opposition of "slandering honest people" when asked about Cerdán's activities last party secretary, from the northern region of Navarre, was a trusted confidant of the prime minister, playing a crucial role, for example, in negotiating the support of Catalan nationalists to allow the formation of a new government in acknowledging that he "should not have trusted" Cerdán, Sánchez has insisted that he will see out the legislature, which is due to end in a letter to PSOE members he apologised again, while doubling down."There are many issues that affect the lives of the majority – healthcare, housing, pensions, jobs, fighting climate change and defending equality – and for which it is worth fighting still," he wrote. "Challenges that are not solved with headlines or lynchings."However, the opposition has presented the investigation as symptomatic of a corrupt regime, pointing to other probes affecting Sánchez and his circle.A judge has been investigating the prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, for possible business irregularities - and his musician brother, David, is due to go on trial for alleged influence peddling in taking up a public post in the south-western city of Badajoz. Meanwhile, the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, is also likely to face trial for revealing confidential details of a tax evader. All three deny wrongdoing. Sánchez and his supporters have cast these three affairs as part of a campaign orchestrated by the conservative People's Party (PP), the far-right Vox, right-wing media and factions within the judiciary. A number of judicial experts have expressed surprise at the zeal with which the investigations have been carried a raucous parliamentary session this week, opposition MPs chanted "Dimisión" (Resign) at the prime minister, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, accused him of being "a wolf who has led a corrupt pack".Paco Camas, head of public opinion in Spain for polling firm Ipsos, sees a Sánchez resignation as "political suicide" for his party, because it would almost certainly trigger elections, allowing the PP to form a government, probably with the support of Vox."The overall trend right now is a demobilised electorate on the left, particularly for the Socialist party, and an enormous mobilisation of voters on the right, which is capitalising on the discontent with the government," Camas the Socialist president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, has warned that "there is no dignified way out" for the as long as Sánchez can keep his fragile parliamentary majority of left-wing and nationalist parties together there is little the opposition can do to bring him that end, the prime minister has been frantically trying to reassure these allies, many of who have voiced outrage at the Cerdán-Ábalos scandal. Camas believes that persuading them to support a 2026 budget could be a way for Sánchez to buy some such plans could be left in tatters were more explosive revelations to emerge, as many in the Socialist party worries will be playing on Sánchez's mind as he heads to the Nato summit in The an assured presence on the international stage, he will arrive with serious doubts about his future and under mounting pressure to raise Spain's defence his government has promised to increase military spending to 2% of economic output this year, it has been resisting calls from the United States and the Nato leadership to raise it further. Sánchez has now refused to accept a target of 5% of GDP for military spending, saying it "would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive".
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Spanish kickback revelations cast doubt on future of prime minister Pedro Sánchez
New revelations that senior figures in his Socialist Party were allegedly involved in a kickback scheme have thrust Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez into his deepest crisis since taking office seven years ago. Audio gathered by investigators and made public on Thursday appeared to show Santos Cerdán, the Socialist Party's number three, discussing large sums of money to be charged in exchange for public contracts. Two other men appear to take part in the recorded conversations: José Luis Ábalos, a former senior figure in the party and transport minister who is already being investigated for corruption, and Koldo García, a former adviser of his, who reportedly recorded the audio and is also being investigated. In one of the recordings, Cerdán and García appear to acknowledge that Ábalos is due to receive about €1 million in exchange for the awarding of several contracts. The scandal surrounding Ábalos exploded last year. Although it was damaging for the government, his departure from the cabinet in 2021 and swift removal from the party when he came under suspicion limited its impact somewhat. But the implication of Cerdán, a close ally of Sánchez who he had defended for months from accusations published in the media, comes as a severe blow. READ MORE On Thursday, Sánchez apologised to Spaniards eight times in a televised appearance in which he appeared to acknowledge his former colleague's guilt. 'Until this morning I considered all Santos's explanations to be true,' he said, explaining his mind had been changed by evidence that was 'very, very serious'. 'The Socialist Party and I should not have trusted him,' Sánchez added. Cerdán has resigned from the party and said he will give up his parliamentary seat, although he has insisted on his innocence. Until now, the government had warned that a right-wing witch hunt was being waged by judges and the media to fabricate corruption scandals. Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, has been investigated for possible business irregularities and his brother, David Sánchez, is due to go on trial for alleged influence peddling. Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz, a Sánchez ally, is also likely to go on trial for revealing confidential information. Meanwhile, a former Socialist operative, Leire Díez, has been caught on tape offering favourable treatment to a businessman in exchange for incriminating information on the police unit carrying out inquiries into several cases affecting the government. The latest development has emboldened the leader of the opposition conservative People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who for months has been casting the government as inherently corrupt. 'If anyone had any doubts about what we considered to be a mafia-like network behind the party of government and behind the government itself, I imagine they have now disappeared,' he said. Núñez Feijóo has been calling for Sanchez to call a snap election. Despite the Cerdán revelations, Sánchez has said he intends to see the legislature through until 2027. The Socialist's fate is now in the hands of his parliamentary allies, most of whom supported him in 2018 when he took power by winning a no-confidence motion against a corruption-ridden PP government. His coalition partner, the left-wing Sumar, is among those to express deep concern at the Cerdán scandal. If any of his leftist and nationalist allies were to withdraw their support, as the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) has hinted it might consider doing, depending on how the case progresses, it would almost certainly bring down the government. However, an alternative administration would likely be formed by the PP and the far-right Vox, both of which have alienated Catalan and Basque nationalists with their aggressive unionism. Sánchez's immediate future, therefore, looks bleak but still hard to determine.
Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Spain's Socialist PM begs for forgiveness over corruption
Spain's Left-wing prime minister has apologised for a series of corruption scandals within his Socialist party. Pedro Sanchez's expression of regret came hours after a close ally was implicated in a bribery scandal. 'I apologise to citizens and Socialist party members and activists,' the prime minister said in a press conference at the party's headquarters in Madrid, on Thursday. Two hours earlier, Santos Cerdán, the party secretary, resigned when Spanish press reported that the police had evidence linking him with a scheme in which companies were charged in return for government contracts. Mr Sánchez admitted to being 'mistaken' in placing his trust in Mr Cerdán, one of his closest aides for a decade, but ruled out resigning or calling a snap election before the scheduled date in 2027. He said he had asked Mr Cerdán to step down and promised an audit of the party's finances, given the suspicion that the former secretary may have been gathering funds for political campaigns. 'Zero corruption is impossible but we must show zero tolerance when it occurs,' Mr Sánchez said. Legislative standstill In a letter announcing his resignation from his party post and as an MP, Mr Cerdán denied committing any illegal acts and said he would fight to clear his name. The allegations stem from an an ongoing police investigation into José Luis Ábalos, Mr Cerdán's predecessor, who is suspected of taking bribes from business owners in exchange for public contracts during his four-year spell as transport and infrastructure minister. The report contains transcripts of conversations involving Mr Ábalos, his advisor and Mr Cerdán, in which the latter is described as 'managing' the receipt of more than €600,000 in payments from a construction company. The Socialists came second to the conservative People's Party (PP) in 2023, but narrowly held onto power by forming a minority Left-wing coalition. Since then, the increasingly beleaguered Mr Sánchez has seen his wife and brother, as well as party officials, placed under investigation for alleged corruption offences.
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Corruption allegations intensify around Spain's government as MP resigns
The swirl of corruption allegations surrounding the centre-left government of Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has intensified dramatically after a senior member of his Spanish Socialist Workers' party (PSOE) resigned hours after a judge found 'firm evidence' of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts. Sánchez – who became prime minister in 2018 after using a motion of no confidence to turf the corruption-mired conservative People's party (PP) from office – is already contending with a series of graft probes relating to his wife, his brother, his former transport minister, and one of that minister's aides. All deny any wrongdoing. A former PSOE member was also recently implicated in an alleged smear campaign against the Guardia Civil police unit investigating the corruption allegations. But the pressure on his administration increased further on Wednesday when reports emerged that the Guardia Civil had a recording of Santos Cerdán León, a PSOE MP and the party's organisational secretary, discussing taking kickbacks on public contracts with the former transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, and one of the minister's aides, Koldo García. On Thursday morning, a judge at Spain's supreme court unsealed a case relating to the three men, saying there was 'firm evidence of the possible involvement' of Cerdán in conspiring with Ábalos and García to receive money in return for the 'undue awarding' of public contracts. The judge also invited Cerdán to testify voluntarily later this month. Hours after both Cerdán and the PSOE insisted that he had never taken part in 'any such conversations' and had never influenced the the awarding of public contracts, the MP stepped down from his role in the party and resigned his seat. Cerdán insisted he was innocent in a statement announcing his resignation, explaining that he was standing down in order to 'focus exclusively on defending myself and on providing relevant explanations that will show … that I have never committed and illegal act nor been complicit in one'. He also said he would testify before the judge on 25 June. Ábalos was sacked from Sánchez's cabinet in 2021 and suspended by the PSOE in February last year after refusing to resign when his assistant, García, was accused of taking bribes to facilitate mask contracts during the Covid pandemic. Both are the subjects of ongoing corruption investigations and both have denied any wrongdoing. The PP, which organised a large demonstration in Madrid on Sunday to protest against the Sánchez government and to call for an early general election, said the case against the prime minister and his circle was now utterly damning. 'If anyone was in any doubt as to why we felt there was a mafia-style plot among the party and the government, we imagine that doubt has been dispelled,' the party's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo told parliament on Thursday. Sánchez's partners in the socialist-led minority government have also called for urgent action and answers. Yolanda Díaz, who serves as labour minister and one of the country's three deputy prime ministers, said it was 'a very serious matter that needs to be clarified and fully explained as soon as possible'.
Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez's right-hand man ‘took kickbacks'
Pedro Sánchez's right-hand man has allegedly admitted receiving kickbacks for rigging public contracts, according to an audio recording seized by police. Santos Cerdán is the second politician in the Spanish prime minister's closest circle to be investigated for corruption. José Luis Ábalos, who is a former minister and was previously Sánchez's right-hand man, is under criminal investigation for receiving kickbacks. The revelation about Cerdan's alleged kickbacks is a further blow to Sánchez's government, which is reeling from a string of corruption scandals. The Guardia Civil's anticorruption unit (UCO) reportedly uncovered the recording implicating Cerdán, the third most senior official in the ruling Socialist party, according to the broadcaster Ser Radio. The radio station, which is close to the government, reported that in the recording it was mentioned that up to four construction companies owed kickbacks to Cerdán, allegedly as payment for rigging awards of public works. A figure mentioned was €400,000. The conversation was between Cerdán, Ábalos, and Koldo García, his aide, who are both already under investigation for corruption. The Socialist party denied the report, saying in a statement: 'Santos Cerdán has not participated in, much less influenced, the awarding of public works. He has never charged a commission for it.' Sánchez is also facing a growing 'dirty tricks' scandal involving a Socialist party hack who sought incriminating evidence on the police unit, which is investigating Sánchez's wife, brother and Ábalos for alleged corruption, according to reports. In another controversy, the government has falsely accused a police officer from the unit of plotting to place a bomb under Sánchez's car. While the Spanish government said it has been suffering a lawfare and smear campaign, Sánchez, who has been in power since 2018, is facing his worst crisis yet. David Sánchez, the prime minister's brother, is to stand trial for alleged crimes of misuse of public funds and influence-peddling over alleged irregularities in the creation of a government job for him. Begoña Gómez, the prime minister's wife, is under investigation for alleged corruption and influence-peddling. Ábalos, a former minister, is under investigation for allegedly accepting kickbacks for contracts to buy masks and other medical supplies during the Covid pandemic. All deny the allegations. To add to Sánchez's woes, the supreme court is set to put the attorney-general on trial over allegations of leaking confidential information in a tax fraud case involving a conservative leader's partner.
