Sanchez has spent the past five days in isolation contemplating his future. Supporters and opponents alike now await a decision that has the potential to fundamentally change Spain’s political landscape significant impact The distribution of top EU jobs after the June European Parliament elections.
Wait, Peter!
Sanchez’s announcement last Wednesday was prompted by the news that a Madrid judge had opened a preliminary corruption and influence-peddling investigation focused on Begoña Gomez, the prime minister’s wife. The investigation was launched in response to a lawsuit filed by Manos Limpias – or “Clean Hands” – a group linked to the far right that regularly uses the courts to target people or groups associated with progressive causes. Is.
trial seems baseless: Prosecutors recommended dismissing the criminal complaint last week, and even Manos Limpias acknowledged that his case may have been based on “fake news.” But it appears that the judiciary’s decision to open a preliminary investigation despite the weakness of the evidence against Gomez was too much for Sanchez to handle.
The Prime Minister’s reaction is understandable given the personal attacks that have been leveled against him and his family since his emergence in Spanish politics a decade ago. During the past few years, the centre-right Popular Party has called on Sánchez usurperA terrorist supporter and a traitor, Conservative opposition has also helped spread malicious rumors That his wife is actually a man, and his family are drug traffickers who operate a network of sex clubs.
The intensity of the pressure on Sanchez and his family was highlighted by Spanish media on Friday, when several publications posted Recording In 2014 a meeting took place between center-right politician Francisco Martínez and José Manuel Villarejo, then Secretary of State for Security. The latter, a disgraced police inspector, is suspected of being at the center of powerful tool Which served to tarnish the reputation of politicians, senior judges and even members of the monarchy.
In the recording, the men discuss a plan to “politically kill” Sanchez by going after his wife’s family and suggest that he is involved in illegal businesses. Villarejo later discussed its use legal strategy – Initiates baseless court cases to harass and discredit political opponents – and mentions Manos Limpias as a group with which he cooperates.