Pedro Sánchez, the president of the government of Spain, announced in an open letter to the public that he is considering resigning after his wife, Begoña Gómez, was involved in an influence-peddling scandal last week.
In his letter, Sánchez accused the opposition, which consists of conservative and liberal parties and the media, of harassing him and his family. Therefore, he decided to take a few days to "reflect" on whether it was worth continuing in office.
"I'm not naive. I am aware that they are denouncing Begoña not because she has done something illegal, they know there is no case, but because she is my wife. As I am also fully aware that the attacks I suffer are not against me but rather against what I represent: a progressive political option, supported election after election by millions of Spaniards, based on economic progress, social justice and democratic regeneration," wrote Sánchez, who also announced that on April 29 he will appear before the press to clarify his political future.
“At this point, the question I legitimately ask myself is, is all this worth it? Sincerely I dont know. This attack is unprecedented, it is so serious and so gross that I need to stop and reflect with my wife. Many times we forget that behind politicians there are people. And I, I am not ashamed to say it, I am a man deeply in love with my wife who lives helplessly with the mud that is spread on her day in and day out."
Carta a la ciudadanía. pic.twitter.com/c2nFxTXQTK
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 24, 2024
Sánchez's surprise announcement comes a week after it was revealed that the Court of Instruction Number 41 in Madrid is investigating his wife after a complaint filed by the Manos Liminas union. An organization that accused Gómez of being related to at least one company that received contracts from the Spanish state.
This process opened on April 16 and was called an investigation proceedings for the alleged commission of corruption and influence-peddling crimes. However, the proceedings are declared secret, as the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid reported.
Gómez has been in the eye of the storm for months for apparently holding meetings with several private companies, such as Globalia and Air Europa, which later received funds and public contracts from the current Spanish government.
However, Gómez has not yet been accused of a formal crime, and it will only be known if she goes to trial once the preliminary proceedings are concluded.
In this phase of the investigations, the authorities gather evidence, take statements and carry out the necessary investigations to determine whether an alleged crime worthy of an accusation was committed.
The scandals and instability of the Sánchez government
Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, has been immersed in various scandals for almost his entire political career, leading him to become a political survivor, especially in his role as Prime Minister.
However, the situation has been more than complicated in recent months for him and his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE).
In March, the Spanish government was immersed in a corruption scandal for the illicit purchase of masks at the worst moment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scandal was known as the "Koldo Case" due to the surname of the main person targeted by the Spanish Justice, Koldo García, a former advisor to President Pedro Sánchez's inner circle who took succulent commissions from fraudulent contracts with a medical supplies company.
Koldo was an advisor and trusted person of José Luis Ábalos, Minister of Development and Secretary of Organization of the PSOE between 2017 and 2021. In turn, Ábalos is part of Sánchez's close circle.
The Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office believes that the advisor of the former minister of the Spanish government took illegal commissions after mediating between mask companies and several regional administrations related to the government during the pandemic. Along with Koldo, the Spanish Civil Guard arrested another 20 people, of whom 15 were released after testifying before the authorities.
The case affected not only the former minister but also the president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, who held the third most important position in the Spanish state behind the king and the president of the government and was singled out for approving the purchase of medical supplies defective.
According to the newspaper El Confidencial, Armengol served as president of the government of the Balearic Islands from 2015 to 2023. In 2020, her administration put the quality seal on a shipment of masks made by the company investigated in the Koldo case, Soluciones de Gestión.
It was a mask operation valued at 3.7 million euros (approximately $4 million). According to the investigation, the quality seal would have been placed when the Armengol administration knew the material was defective.
In addition to corruption scandals linked to the Government, Sánchez has faced multiple criticism and rejection from a large part of Spanish society for a controversial amnesty law approved in the Spanish Congress in March.
This legislation will serve to pardon politicians from Catalan separatist parties who committed criminal acts in 2017 when they called an illegal referendum and proclaimed the Republic of Catalonia, events classified as terrorist acts by the Spanish Justice.
