MADRID – Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made a shock announcement that he would suspend public duties to decide if wants to continue to lead the country as his wife was embroiled in a corruption investigation.
Mr Sánchez, 52, who has been in power since 2018, made the stunning announcement after a Spanish court said on Wednesday that it was launching a preliminary investigation into whether the Prime Minister’s wife, Begoña Gómez, committed a crime of influence peddling and corruption in her private dealings.
Mr Sánchez said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that he would announce next Monday if would continue to lead the country.
“I need to pause and think. I urgently need an answer to the question of whether it is worthwhile … whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour,” he wrote.
Mr Sánchez said the seriousness of the attacks that he and his wife were receiving from elements in the conservative right and far right deserved a measured response.
No further details of the case have been revealed concerning the investigation as it is subject to a secrecy order, as is customary in Spain.
The case is a preliminary investigation after a complaint raised by the anti-corruption group Manos Limpias – Clean Hands – whose leader has links to the far right.
Manos Limpias alleged that Ms Gómez used her influence as the wife of the Prime Minister to allegedly secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.
Last year the Prime Minister called a snap election after performing poorly in local elections but when the opposition People’s Party won the most votes, he made a controversial deal to grant Catalan separatists an amnesty over the failed 2017 independence push in order to stay in power.
Felix Bolaños, the Justice Minister, expressed support for Mr Sánchez and dismissed the allegations as “fake”.
If Mr Sánchez steps down, the parliament could pick another prime minister but given its fractured nature it is unlikely anyone would win, said analyst Lluis Orriols, of the University Carlos III in Madrid.
The Madrid court will consider the allegations and proceed with the investigation or throw out the case.
Ms Gomez, 49, is a businesswoman who does not hold public office and keeps a low political profile.
Manos Limpias describes itself as a unión, but its main activity is as a platform pursuing legal cases, many linked to right-wing causes.
It acts as a “popular prosecution”, a peculiarity of Spanish law that allows individuals or entities to take part in certain criminal cases even when they have not been directly harmed by the accused.