Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that he would remain as head of government. Sanzchez considered resigning amid corruption allegations against his wife.
Pedro Sanchez
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Sanchez noted that he and his wife, Begona Gomez, are aware that – as he said – the campaign to discredit them will not stop. He added that after a few days of reflection, he came to the belief that he must continue working as prime minister for the good of the country and its citizens, and his possible resignation would harm Spanish society and democracy.
Sanchez emphasized that this belief was confirmed by the support he received from supporters. Large demonstrations took place in Madrid over the weekend, with participants calling on Sanchez to remain in office.
We all need time for reflection, to think together about what kind of country we want, Sanchez said. The allegations against his wife are “big lies”.
In the 10th “Letter to Citizens” published on Wednesday, Sanchez said that his decision to take a five-day reflection on his political future and to withdraw from participation in public events is related to the launch of an investigation by a court in Madrid against his wife, as well as attacks on him and his wife. He expressed his belief that Begona Gomez had not committed any irregularities.
The head of government suggested that the accusations against his wife were of a political nature. He argued that the report on this matter was filed by the anti-corruption organization Czyste Ręce (Manos Limpias), which – as he said – was “extremely right-wing”.
On Wednesday morning, a court in Madrid launched an investigation against Gomez for her alleged involvement in corruption and use of political influence. Thanks to them, she was supposed to develop her business activities.
The main allegations against the prime minister’s wife, who serves as head of the master’s degree program in management in competitive social transformation at the Complutense University of Madrid, center on the case of the consulting company of Carlos Barrabes, which has been supporting the department headed by Gomez for years.
According to the daily “El Mundo”, the support that Gomez allegedly provided to Globalia is also being investigated so that it could receive EUR 600 million from the Sanchez government to subsidize the Air Europa airline.
Pedro Sanchez took over in 2018, shortly after the Congress of Deputies (lower house of parliament) expressed no confidence in the cabinet of Mariano Rajoy. This was contributed to by a corruption scandal involving some people from the leadership of the People’s Party (PP), of which Rajoy was then head.