Pedro Sánchez denies "widespread corruption" in his circle before Congress
The Spanish government president appeared in Parliament on Wednesday to defend himself against the accumulation of legal cases affecting his inner circle, including his wife, his brother, a former minister already convicted, and his political mentor.
Pedro Sánchez denies "widespread corruption" in his circle before Congress
Pedro Sánchez, president of the Spanish government, appeared before the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on Wednesday 24 June to flatly deny the existence of "widespread corruption" around his Executive and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), according to reporting by BFMTV.
The 54-year-old Socialist leader personally requested this control session to provide explanations for the multiplication of investigations and legal proceedings surrounding people in his immediate circle that have weakened the already fragile government coalition.
"I have never been aware of, nor have I tolerated any of these practices," Sánchez stated during his speech, which was interrupted on several occasions by mockery from the opposition benches. Despite the pressure, he asserted that the Government and the PSOE, which he has led since 2017, are "very calm," though he acknowledged they are neither "perfect" nor "infallible."
The judicial storm has intensified in recent weeks. Last Monday, former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos—who had defended the motion of no confidence that in 2018 brought down Mariano Rajoy's government over corruption cases—was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption offences.
Two days before that sentence, the president's wife, Begoña Gómez, received a prohibition on leaving Spanish territory within an investigation for abuse of influence. The investigating judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, justified the measure on grounds of flight risk. That same Wednesday at 16:00, Gómez was to hand over her passport to the justice authorities and was ordered to appear before the authorities twice a month.
The circle of investigations does not end there. The head of the Executive's brother is also awaiting trial for alleged abuse of influence. Moreover, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former president of the Government between 2004 and 2011 and a political figure to whom Sánchez has looked as a reference point, has likewise been implicated for abuse of influence in connection with the state bailout of airline Plus Ultra during the COVID-19 pandemic, an operation that included a loan of 53 million euros in public money. Sánchez defended the view that this aid was granted "in accordance with the law" and characterised it as "legitimate."
Since late May, the legislature—scheduled to run until 2027—has been overshadowed by revelations about an alleged parallel office within the PSOE dedicated to interfering in these legal proceedings. The president reiterated that he never knew of the existence of that cell and appeared determined to continue leading the Government for at least another year.
Following his intervention, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo (People's Party) again demanded the "dissolution" of Parliament and the calling of early elections, a request that Sánchez rejects. For his part, Santiago Abascal, president of Vox, threw at him: "Do you not feel even a shred of shame?"
Sánchez had apologised in the past to citizens for these scandals and swore that the PSOE had never received illegal funding, an assertion he repeated on Wednesday before the Chamber.
Source: Google News LU FR