Corruption vortex in Spain: The air is getting thin for Pedro Sánchez

The background is a series of corruption scandals that are increasingly putting Sánchez’s left-wing minority government in trouble. It became known last week that the former socialist head of government and Sánchez’s intimate José Luis Zapatero is determined. He is accused of leading a network for illegal influence influence and money laundering. He rejects the allegations.

Raid on party headquarters

The next blow came on Wednesday: officers from the Guardia Civil’s Central Operations Unit searched the building on the orders of the National Court of Justice Headquarters of the Socialist Party (PSOE) in Madrid and several apartments of PSOE politicians.

Initially it was said that the reason was suspected cases of illegal party financing. It later became known that suspicions were being investigated that some kind of criminal network had been founded within the PSOE. This aims to “systematically and continuously destabilize any judicial procedure or police action that could directly or indirectly affect the interests of the PSOE or the government”.

Cases are increasing

In the center, among others, ex-organizational secretary Santos Cerdan as well as the former party official Leire Díez stand. According to the allegations, they tried to stop proceedings and delegitimize judges. Party funds were used for this. The incumbent PSOE managing director is also suspected of this.

Zapatero is by no means the only PSOE politician who has recently found himself in the crosshairs of the Spanish justice system. Cerdán is accused of corruption and bribery. Against ex-transport ministersr José Luis Ábalos – a close confidant of Sánchez – was charged. He and his former advisor Koldo García are in custody. Díez is being investigated for embezzlement in another case. In addition, the Attorney General, who is supported by the Socialists, was recently convicted of betraying secrets. All of the accused deny the allegations.

And the allegations do not stop at Sánchez’s immediate family environment: In April 2024 it became known that a judge in Madrid had ruled against First Lady Begoña Gómez has initiated investigations. She is said to have taken advantage of her position as the prime minister’s wife. The focus is on establishing a chair at the Complutense University in Madrid. She was charged in April and is due in court on June 9.

Trial in Badajoz

Also Sánchez’s younger brother David will have to appear in court these days. He is said to have benefited from a tailor-made position as coordinator of the music conservatories in Badajoz (Extremadura). The trial began on Thursday.

Sánchez has always spoken of politically motivated smear campaigns against his family. Both proceedings are based on complaints from the private association “Manos Limpias”, which is said to be linked to the right-wing extremist milieu.

Sánchez himself has not yet been directly accused. Nevertheless, the air is getting thinner for the head of government, who is widely respected abroad because of his anti-Trump stance and his liberal migration policy. None of the small parties on whose votes his left-wing minority government in parliament relies have yet passed a motion of no confidence conservative People’s Party PP agreed. However, there are isolated calls calling for early elections – also within the PSOE.

According to surveys, the PP would emerge as the winner and could go with the Right-wing party Vox govern – an absolute novelty at the national level in Spain. Sánchez, who has already been declared dead politically several times, is nevertheless combative. He definitely wanted to bring the legislative period, which runs until 2027, to an end, he said during a visit to the Vatican.