Tens of thousands have in Spain against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez protests. The participants of the Demonstration in Madrid accused the left-wing government of corruption and demanded the resignation of the head of government and new elections. The conservative People’s Party (PP) led the opposition leader at the protest Alberto Núñez Feijóo called.
The rally took place on the esplanade in front of the Debod Temple in the city center under the slogan “Mafia or Democracy?” instead of. Many carried Spanish flags and placards with slogans like “Resign immediately!” and “Sánchez go away!”. The PP spoke of around 80,000 participants. However, the Interior Ministry estimated the number to be around half. The last similarly large rally against Sánchez took place in Madrid in June.
The new protest was triggered by the pre-trial detention imposed on Sánchez’s former transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, on Thursday. His former advisor Koldo García also has to be in custody. The indictment accuses both of them of corruption in connection with the purchase of protective masks during the corona pandemic.
Left minority government under increasing pressure
The Supreme Court’s decision was a further setback for the minority government of Socialist Sánchez, which is also under pressure over other corruption scandals. In principle, the next general election in Spain would not have to take place until the second half of 2027.
However, the opposition is increasingly calling for an earlier vote. “The whole of Spain is fed up with corruption. (…) Stop so much decay and so much nonsense,” Feijóo shouted to the cheers of the crowd. “They should finally go – they should go and call new elections so that the citizens can speak, vote and decide,” he demanded.
However, his party is not free from allegations of corruption, criticism and affairs. For example, the President of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, the PP politician Carlos Mazón, announced his resignation after much criticism of his crisis management during the so-called storm of the century with more than 200 deaths in the fall of 2024 in the region popular with vacationers.