On Monday, Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, announced that he would be remaining in his position, bringing stability to Spanish politics before the upcoming European elections. There had been speculation about his resignation for several days, but over the weekend, there were demonstrations in support of Sanchez.
The decision for Sanchez to stay in office was reported by BBC and Politico, with the controversy surrounding his wife, Begoña Gómez, also coming to light. An organization called Clean Hands accused Gómez of corruption, alleging that she had used her position as the prime minister’s spouse inappropriately. A preliminary investigation has been launched by the Spanish court into the matter.
Sanchez temporarily stepped aside from his duties for five days to consider his future in politics, amidst the allegations against his wife. In a speech on Monday, he denounced the accusations as part of a harassment campaign orchestrated by the right-wing media. With Sanchez’s announcement, Spanish politics has been stabilized as he does not have a clear successor and the opposition leader also lacks enough support to form a new government.
If Sanchez had resigned, it would have led to the formation of an interim government and new parliamentary elections in the summer, which would have been challenging given the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Spain needs a strong negotiator to represent the country in these crucial political events.
