SPAIN
Spain’s Pedro Sánchez decides not to resign:
‘Let’s show the world how democracy is defended’
The PM says he will be ‘stronger than ever’ and fight
what he describes as a harassment campaign against his wife that is part of a
larger reactionary movement spreading in Spain and the world
Madrid - APR 29, 2024 - 12:00 GMT+2
Pedro
Sánchez
Pedro
Sánchez speaking in La Moncloa, the seat of government.
Spain’s
prime minister, Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), on Monday
morning confirmed that he has decided not to resign, to stay at the helm of
government and to keep going “stronger than ever,” following five days of
uncertainty about his political future.
His
decision to take a break from all official engagements on Wednesday came after
a court opened an initial inquiry into his wife, Begoña Gómez, over corruption
allegations. The accusation was brought by an association called Manos Limpias
(Clean Hands) with ties to the far right and a history of bringing legal action
against left-wing leaders. Sánchez last week described the move against his
wife as “a harassment campaign.”
On Monday,
Sánchez said that the shows of support from party officials and from grassroots
sympathizers over the last five days had helped him make the decision to stay
at the helm of his center-left coalition government.
“My wife
and I know that this discrediting campaign will not end. We have been suffering
it for 10 years. It is serious, but it is not the most relevant thing. We can
overcome it,” he said from La Moncloa, the seat of government. “The important
thing is that we want to thank the shows of solidarity that came from all
sides. Thanks to this mobilization, I have decided to stay.”
Sánchez’s
address included remarks on the growing polarization of Spanish politics and
beyond. “This is not about the fate of any individual leader. This is about
deciding what kind of society we want to be. I ask Spanish society to once
again be an example and a role model for a convulsed, hurting world. The ills
that plague us are part of a global reactionary movement that seeks to impose
its regressive agenda through slander and falsehood, through hate, and by
playing on fears and threats that are not backed by science or rationality.
Let’s show the world how democracy is defended.”
On
Wednesday, following the opening of the inquiry into his wife, Sánchez locked
himself away with his family and drafted a letter stating that he was seriously
considering resigning after the “unprecedented attacks” against his wife. “I
need to stop and reflect. I have to answer the question of whether it is worth
it, whether I should continue at the head of the government or resign from this
honor,” the president said in a “letter to citizens” posted on the social
network X, without an official letterhead — a sign that it was a personal
matter.
The inquiry
is the result of a complaint filed by an ultra-conservative group whose leaders
have in the past been sentenced to jail (and later acquitted) for extorting
money from financial institutions.
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