Spain: Sánchez to Continue as PM Despite Bullying Campaign

The socialist prime minister shocked Spain last Wednesday when he shared a personal letter explaining that he was withdrawing from his public duties for a few days to weigh up whether or no he wanted to remain in office.

Sánchez posted his letter to social media hours after a Madrid court had said it had opened a preliminary investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, “for the alleged offence of influence peddling and corruption”.

The investigation followed a complaint from the pressure group Manos Limpias [Clean Hands], a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a long history of using the courts to pursue those it deems to be acting against Spain’s democratic interests.

In an eagerly awaited statement delivered after he went to see King Felipe on Monday morning, Sánchez said he had decided to carry on as prime minister despite the attacks he and his family have had to endure.

He said he had been greatly moved by the public response to his letter and by the rallies of support in Madrid over the weekend.

“Thanks to that social mobilization, which has influenced my decision, I can tell you what I’ve already told our head of state: I’ve decided to stay and fight even harder as prime minister,” he said.

He also called for an end to political and media attacks, adding: “Let’s stop this mud-slinging by collectively rejecting it … I ask Spanish society to once again become an example and an inspiration to a wounded world.”

Manos Limpias has accused Gómez of using her influence as the wife of the prime minister to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.