Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has put his official duties on hold to consider whether he will step down, following an investigation into his wife for corruption. In a statement published on social media platform X on April 24th, Sánchez wrote: “I need to pause and reflect in order to decide if I will continue leading the government or renounce this honor.” Sánchez, who is 52 years old, announced that he would make a decision on April 29th and suspend public activities until then.
The announcement from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez came after Madrid’s court opened an investigation into Begoña Gómez, Sánchez’s wife, for suspected abuse of power and corruption in business dealings with the government. The investigation was sparked by a complaint filed by the anti-corruption group Manos Limpias.
According to reports from Spanish media outlets, investigators were examining Gómez’s ties with several private companies that received money or contracts from the government. This includes Globalia, a Spanish tourism company that owns Air Europa airline. It is reported that Gómez met in private with the CEO of Globalia in 2020 when the company was negotiating a bailout package worth millions of euros with the government amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his statement, Sánchez denied any wrongdoing by his wife and accused Manos Limpias of basing their allegations on false information as part of an organized campaign against his family directed by conservative media outlets and supported by right-wing opposition parties.
Supporting her husband, some members of Sánchez’s cabinet visited him at home on April 24th. They expressed their support for him and called for unity among progressive forces to protect democracy and maintain the legitimacy of the coalition government that has improved people’s lives greatly since coming to power.
