Fresh
blow for Spain’s scandal-plagued Sánchez
Francisco
Salazar, a close ally of the Spanish prime minister, stepped down from his
position in the Socialist Party amid allegations of sexual harassment.
July 5,
2025 4:08 pm CET
By
Kathryn Carlson
https://www.politico.eu/article/sanchez-ally-resigns-in-latest-blow-amid-corruption-scandals/
An ally
of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has resigned after allegations of
sexual harassment — in a fresh blow for Spain’s Socialist Party just weeks
after a string of corruption scandals erupted.
Francisco
Salazar, a close ally of Sánchez, stepped down from his position as a deputy in
the party’s secretariat and asked for the claims to be investigated, the
Socialist Party said in a statement.
The
allegations were made in the left-wing Spanish news site elDiario.es. The
outlet alleged that Salazar made inappropriate comments about a female
subordinate’s clothing and body, invited her to dinner alone and asked her to
sleep at his home.
The
Socialist Party said it will begin an investigation immediately, but said no
official complaints had been made.
The
latest incident is a fresh blow for Sánchez, who was due to speak at the
party’s headquarters in Madrid as the news broke. Reuters reported that Sánchez
spoke an hour later than scheduled, and called for any woman suffering sexual
abuse to report it via the party’s official channels. He did not mention
Salazar directly.
Sánchez
publicly apologized last month for the party’s recent corruption scandals
including senior party figures. The Spanish prime minister, who leads a
minority coalition government, has repeatedly come under fire for the scandals.
The main
opposition party, the center-right Peoples’ Party, has accused Sánchez of being
a “capo” leading a “mafia” administration, while protests in Madrid organized
by the PP last month drew tens of thousands.
Even from
within his own party, politicians from Spain’s cities and regions have called
for Sánchez to hold snap national elections — even while knowing their party
would be virtually guaranteed to lose.
The
speech at the Socialist Party’s headquarters was intended to draw a line under
the recent scandals and announce a shake-up of the party to bolster its
reputation.
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