The World Briefly

April 29, 2024

Hedging Bets

Spain

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Thousands of Spaniards marched in the capital Madrid over the weekend in a show of support for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, days after the left-wing leader announced that he was considering stepping down because of an investigation into his wife for corruption, the Guardian reported.

He is expected to announce his decision on Monday, Agence France Presse wrote.

Last week, Sánchez shocked the nation when he published a letter saying he would temporarily abandon his public duties for five days while he decided whether to continue as prime minister.

The announcement came shortly after a Madrid court said it had launched a preliminary investigation into the prime minister’s wife, Begoña Gómez, for influence peddling and corruption.

The probe began after a complaint by the Manos Limpias organization (Clean Hands), which alleged that Gomez used her influence as the prime minister’s wife to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.

Manos Limpias, registered as a trade union, is linked to various right-wing groups and has a history of using the courts to pursue those it deems to be acting against Spain’s democratic interests.

Following the allegations and court announcement, Sánchez accused his political opponents of “collaborating with a far-right digital galaxy and with Manos Limpias.”

Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and his allies have rallied around him in recent days, with messages of support also being offered from other international left-wing leaders, such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

However, Spain’s opposition decried Sánchez’s announcement as cynical maneuvering and melodrama: A survey commissioned by the conservative opposition, People’s Party, found that more than half of respondents believed that the prime minister’s actions were a strategy to gain support.

Analysts noted that the proposal to resign comes just before two major elections: On May 12, an early regional vote will take place in the Catalonia region and a month later, the European Parliament elections, according to Politico.

If Sánchez resigns, his government will enter caretaker status until the national parliament supports a new candidate for the executive.

Alternatively, he could seek parliamentary backing via a confidence vote, requiring a simple majority.

Another option is to dissolve parliament and call early polls, a move Sánchez successfully employed after last year’s general elections.

However, current polling shows the PP with a significant lead over Sánchez’s Socialist Party, raising uncertainty about the outcome of such a gamble.

This story originally appeared in the April 29, 2024 newsletter, Silent Treatment.