SPAIN’S PEDRO SANCHEZ has said he will stay on as prime minister after threatening to stand down over what he has denounced as a campaign of political harassment by the right.

“I have decided to stay,” he said in a highly-anticipated public address after five days of silence which began on Wednesday after a court said it was investigating his wife for alleged graft.

The 52-year-old, in office since 2018 who was reappointed to another term in November, will speak from the Moncloa palace, his official workplace and residence.

Sanchez announced last Wednesday he was considering resignation after a Madrid court opened a preliminary probe into suspected influence peddling and corruption targeting his wife Begona Gomez.

“I need to stop and think whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour,” he wrote in a four-page letter posted on X.

Three days later, thousands of supporters massed outside the headquarters of his Socialist party in Madrid chanting: “Pedro, stay!”

Sanchez has said the move targeting his wife is part of a campaign of “harassment” against them being waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right” and backed by the right-wing opposition.

The public prosecutor’s office on Thursday asked that the court investigation be closed.

‘Harassment’ campaign

The court opened its investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint by anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said in a statement late on Wednesday that it had based its complaint on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it was related to her ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.

Sanchez has been vilified by right-wing opponents and media because his minority government relies on the support of the hard-left and Catalan and Basque separatist parties to pass laws.

The Spanish Prime Minister visited Ireland earlier this month, on 12 April, and held meetings with Taoiseach Simon Harris. 

The pair discussed the recognition of Palestinian statehood, with Harris saying that Ireland would move with Spain and other EU countries when “the time is right”.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin announced in the Dáil a few days previous that Ireland plans to recognise the state of Palestine along with Spain, Belgium and Malta.

Sanchez has previously said his country plans to extend recognition to the Palestinians by July.

Includes reporting by - © AFP 2024