Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announces he will not resign after corruption allegations against his wife

29 April 2024, 11:38

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced he will not resign over corruption allegations made against his wife.

Mr Sánchez shocked the country on Wednesday when he announced he would be taking five days away from public duties to consider his wife.

It came after a court in Madrid opened preliminary proceedings against his wife over allegations of corruption and influence peddling.

"I have decided to continue on with even more strength at the helm of the government of Spain," he said in a televised speech.

The legal complaint against his wife, Begona Gomez, was filed by a legal platform that says Ms Gomez used her position to influence business deals.

The group, Manos Limpias, or "Clean Hands", acknowledged that the complaint was based on newspaper articles. Spanish prosecutors say it should be thrown out.

Mr Sanchez said the move was too personal an attack on his family and he needed time to decide on his priorities.

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Mr Sanchez, 52, has been Spain's prime minister since 2018.

He was able to form a new minority leftist coalition government in November to start another four-year term thanks to the exceedingly fragile support of a handful of small regional parties.

He is one of Europe's longest-serving Socialist leaders and while popular internationally, he is loved or despised in Spain.

Mr Sanchez blames the investigation on online news sites politically aligned with the leading opposition Popular Party and the Vox party that spread what he called "spurious" allegations.

His supporters say this should be a wake-up call to react against baseless attacks that are poisoning Spanish politics.

The Popular Party, however, said Mr Sanchez's behaviour was frivolous, adolescent and unbecoming of a European leader. It said the decision was a tactical ploy to whip up support for electoral purposes.