The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Monday in a televised speech that he will continue in office despite the corruption allegations against his wife. Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gomez, was accused of unduly leveraging her position to influence business deals.
Sánchez said he took five days off to reflect on the matter and has decided to stay. He added that he would continue his commitment to working for the regeneration of democracy and the advancement of rights and freedoms. Moreover, he stated that he would remain in the office in response to those who wanted to bring him down using personal attacks, fake news and lies and would not succumb to the harassment.
Sánchez published a letter on X (formerly Twitter) last week, stating that he needs time to reflect on his position as prime minister amidst the allegations. Additionally, thousands of protesters marched in Madrid to support the prime minister. The letter came on the heels of the commencement of a preliminary investigation by a Madrid court into the allegations of corruption against his wife.
The case started after a private activist group named Manos Limpias, which Sánchez described as far-right filed a complaint against Sánchez’s wife. In a press release, Bernard Remon, the General Secretary of Manos Limpias, condemned the prime minister’s behavior as wholly unacceptable. He refuted the characterization of Manos Limpias as a far-right organization. Additionally, he stressed that it is the court’s responsibility to ascertain the truthfulness of the journalistic information underpinning the complaint, thereby determining the course of the legal proceedings.
Sánchez, 52, has been in the office of prime minister of Spain since 2018. In November 2023, he formed a coalition government after his party, Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE), failed to clinch a majority in the July elections. The allegations against his wife can immensely affect his standing, especially in light of the upcoming election in the Catalonia region in May and the European Parliament election in June.
