Spanish Prime Minister’s Resignation: A Political Consequence of Wife’s Corruption Scandal?

After Sánchez’s wife was accused of corruption, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, considered resigning. In a social media post on April 24th, Sánchez wrote: “I need to pause and reflect to decide if I will continue leading the government or resign from this honor.” Sánchez, who is 52 years old, announced his decision on April 29th and suspended the public agenda until then.

The announcement from the Spanish Prime Minister came after a Madrid court opened an investigation into Begoña Gómez, his wife, for suspected abuse of influence in exchange for benefits and corruption in joint business activities. The investigation was sparked by a complaint filed by Manos Limpias, an anti-corruption group.

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. One such company was Globalia, a Spanish tourism group that owns Air Europa airline. It is alleged that Gómez met in private with Globalia CEO in 2020 while the company was negotiating a multimillion-dollar bailout package with the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sánchez denied these claims in his letter to social media saying that Manos Limpias’ accusations were based on “nonexistent facts,” as part of a campaign of “harassment” against his wife directed by conservative ultraright media outlets and supported by the conservative opposition party.

Some members of Sánchez’s cabinet visited him at his residence on April 24th. They expressed their support for him saying “The right cannot win. We must protect democracy, progressive block and legitimacy of coalition government that has improved people’s lives enormously,” said Yolanda Díaz minister of labor.