Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in a short, anticlimactic press conference that he has decided to remain at the head of his country's government.
“I have shared my decision and communicated it to the head of state. I have decided that, if possible, I will continue as president even more strongly,” he said from the prime minister's office in Moncloa.
Pondering for five days before not resigning turned out to be part of a strategy to strengthen his weak position as prime minister. He claimed that his party and supporters used the weekend to organize demonstrations in his favor, and that “social mobilization” had influenced his decision to remain.
Last Wednesday night, Sanchez withdrew from the public agenda and said he was “considering” the possibility of resigning for five days after a court opened an investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, on corruption charges. It made the people anxious.
“I need to pause and think” to decide “whether I should continue as head of government or relinquish this honor,” he said in a letter posted on X (formerly Twitter). He said he must consider the interests of his family, especially his wife. He set a Monday deadline to announce his decision, an unprecedented move without prior notice to the king, the government or his own party.
Various Spanish media outlets have been reporting for weeks on Begoña Gomez's highly secretive activities, including a meeting with Air Europa executives just before she received a major bailout from the government. In 2020, shortly after Mr. Sánchez began his first full term as prime minister, Mr. Gómez was appointed dean of the School of Competition and Social Transformation at the Complutense University of Madrid, despite not even having a university degree. The essential purpose of her role is to link private companies with public funds, which are ultimately controlled by her husband. However, some questioned whether her activities actually violated influence trafficking laws.
A Madrid court announced early Wednesday that it had “opened an investigation against Begoña Gómez on suspicion of spreading influence and corruption” following a complaint filed by the anti-corruption lobby Manos Limpias (Clean Hands). Go to “far right”. Later, the group Haz Te Oír filed a complaint as well. Naturally, the state prosecutor's first recommendation was to close the case brought by Mr. Manos Limpias, but the judge still has to make a decision.
The Sánchez government has been embroiled in several corruption scandals, and this time it seemed like the straw that broke the camel's back for this slippery political opportunist, but analysts also know that any scenario is possible. Ta.
The unfulfilled threat of resignation was just the latest tactic in Sánchez's unfortunate pursuit of power. But Spanish voters do not have infinite patience, as this weekend's stage-managed demonstrations in support of Sánchez, which were smaller than recent demonstrations against his government, demonstrate.
