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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".
Local Spain
2 days ago
- Politics
- Local Spain
Spain's PM denies that ruling Socialists are funded by corruption
A police report released last week implicated Socialist heavyweight Santos Cerdán and former transport minister José Luis Ábalos in receiving kickbacks in the improper awarding of public contracts. The subsequent backlash has created a crisis for Sánchez, who came to power in 2018 promising to clean up Spanish politics after the main conservative Popular Party (PP) was convicted in its own graft affair. "There is no note, no indication that points to the Socialist party in terms of irregular funding," a sombre-faced Sánchez told a raucous session of parliament in reference to the police report. Since the report, Cerdán has relinquished his powerful post as Socialist organisation secretary and as an MP, while the party definitively expelled Ábalos. Sanchez said the party "accepted its responsibility and acted decisively", vowing to continue amid repeated shouts of "resign!" by PP lawmakers that forced the speaker to call the chamber to order on several occasions. The premier, one of Europe's longest-serving leftist leaders, has initiated talks with the array of left-wing and separatist groups that are essential for his government's viability in a bid to patch up damaged relations. He said he was "open" to hearing from other parties so that "the government and my person recover the confidence lost by the citizens".
Irish Times
5 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.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain's prime minister asks nation for forgiveness after high court investigates a close confidant
MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday asked the nation for forgiveness after a close confidant in his Socialist Party was put under investigation for his alleged participation in a kickback scheme. The damaging case is the latest legal scandal — none of which have gone beyond the preliminary investigation phase — that have dogged Sánchez's inner party circle and his family for the past year. Sánchez himself hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. ¨I want to ask forgiveness to the public because the Socialist Party and myself as its general secretary not should have trusted him," he said, referring to Socialist lawmaker Santos Cerdán. Sánchez spoke hours after Spain's Supreme Court said that Cerdán is suspected of being involved in an alleged kickback scheme for government contracts. It was part of an ongoing investigation that already had pointed to the participation of another former minister in Sánchez's government. Cerdán was the Socialist Party's No. 3 official until he resigned from that post on Thursday. 'I have known Santos Cerdán since 2011 ... and worked arm in arm with him,' he said, adding that no matter what happens in the court case 'this is an enormous disappointment.' Speaking at the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid, Sánchez repeatedly asked Spaniards for forgiveness and said that he had learned of the corruption charges against Cerdán only hours before. Sánchez said that Cerdán is defending his innocence. The public act of contrition by Sánchez comes around 14 months after he took five days off to consider his political future when a judge launched an investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged influence peddling. Instead of resigning, he said he would fight on and denounced what he called a 'smear campaign' by media outlets aligned with right-wing political leanings. On Thursday, the Spanish leader said that he would order an external audit of the Socialist Party's accounts, but he refused to call an early election like his political opponents have demanded for months. 'There won't be elections until 2027, because this is not about me or the Socialist Party. This is about a project to bring positive change to the country,' Sánchez said. Despite leading a minority government, Sánchez said that he was sure he could finish out his four-year term. He has so far maintained the backing of his government's junior members and a myriad of smaller regional and leftist parties in parliament. 'There is no crisis in my government,' Sánchez said. As secretary of the Socialist Party organization, Cerdán held the third-most powerful position in the prime minister's party. Shortly after the court made public that there were sufficient indications that Cerdán was involved in the alleged kickback scheme, Cerdán renounced his seat in parliament and his party posts. While never a minister, Cerdán was charged with sensitive political negotiations, including the key talks between the Socialists and Catalan separatist parties that allowed Sánchez to form a new government in late 2023. One of Europe's longest-serving leaders, the 53-year-old Sánchez has displayed adroit negotiating skills to stay in power since 2018, when he led Spain's only successful no-confidence motion against his conservative Popular Party predecessor. This week, Spain's Supreme Court also announced that it would put the country's prosecutor general on trial over allegations of leaking confidential information in a tax fraud case involving the boyfriend of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the conservative head of the Madrid region and one of Sánchez's main political rivals. Last Sunday, tens of thousands of people protested in Madrid against Sánchez in a rally that was organized by the Popular Party under the slogan 'mafia or democracy." ___ Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. Suman Naishadham And Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
