Spanish PM pauses public duties after corruption probe launched against wife

A local media investigation found Pedro Sánchez’s wife had been in discussions with a CEO of a tourist group, who later got a State contract.

PRIME MINISTER OF Spain, Pedro Sánchez, last night announced that he would be stepping away from public duties, and mulled the possibility of resigning, after a corruption probe had been launched against his wife.

In a four-page letter, posted to X yesterday evening, Sánchez said he needed time to “reflect” on his place as Prime Minister of the State and cited his concerns of right-wing attacks on his family.

He said: “I urgently need to answer a question that I keep asking myself: Is it worth it for me to remain [in office] in spite of the right and far-right’s mudslinging?”

However, the letter came just hours after a Spanish court said they would be opening an investigation into his wife, Begoña Gómez, over allegations that she had used her position to boost her own private company and secure public funding.

Carta a la ciudadanía. pic.twitter.com/c2nFxTXQTK
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 24, 2024

Link to full Tweet here.

The court statement came several hours after a local news site revealed the probe into Gómez’s ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.

The site said the probe was linked to the alleged ties which Gomez had with Spanish tourism group Globalia, which owns Air Europa.

It said she had twice met with Javier Hidalgo, Globalia’s CEO at the time, when the carrier was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout after it was badly hit by the plunge in air traffic due to the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gómez was running a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school a position she left in 2022. She has faced a massive amount of backlash and criticism from far-right opposition Government.

Sánchez’s letter denounced the local media report and claimed the investigation was part of a campaign of “harassment” against his wife led by “ultraconservative” media and supported by the conservative and far-right opposition.

“I am not naive. I am aware that they are bringing charges against Begoña, not because she’s done anything illegal, because they know full well that’s not true, but because she’s my wife,” he added.

Sánchez, who has been the Socialist leader of Spain since 2018, said that he would be suspending his public duties and will make a decision on Monday on if he whether he will step down as Prime Minister.