MADRID (AP) — Spain awaits Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s announcement Monday in uncertainty about whether he will remain in office.
Sánchez shocked the country on Wednesday by announcing he would take five days off to consider his future after a court opened an investigation against his wife over corruption allegations.
Sánchez essentially has four options: resign, seek a vote of confidence in parliament, call new elections or remain in office. He will announce his decision at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT).
Any of these decisions could scupper important legislative plans as well as a crucial election in the Catalonia region in May and European Parliament elections in June.
Sánchez, 52, has been Spain’s Prime Minister since 2018. Thanks to the extremely weak support of a handful of small regional parties, he was able to form a new left-wing minority coalition government in November that was able to serve another four-year term. He is one of Europe’s longest-serving socialist leaders and although he is popular internationally, he divides opinion in Spain.
The lawsuit against Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, was filed by a far-right right-wing platform that claims Gómez used her position to influence business deals.
The group Manos Limpias, or Clean Hands, acknowledged that the complaint was based on newspaper articles. Spanish prosecutors say it should be thrown out.
Sánchez said the move was too personal an attack on his family and that he needed time to decide his priorities.
“Complete uncertainty ahead of Sánchez’s decision,” read the front-page headline of leading Spanish daily El País.
Sánchez blames the investigation on online news sites that are politically aligned with the leading opposition conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox party and spread “false” allegations.
His supporters say this should be a wake-up call to respond against unfounded attacks that are poisoning Spanish politics.
Several demonstrations in support of him took place in Madrid over the weekend.
However, the Popular Party described Sánchez’s behavior as frivolous, juvenile and unbecoming of a European leader. It was said the decision was a tactical ploy to gain support for electoral purposes.
Nagore Calvo Mendizabal, a lecturer in Spanish and European politics and society at King’s College London, said Sánchez’s decision could be “another of his political maneuvers” and that it could benefit him by drumming up nationwide support in the fight against attacks from the Turkey mobilizes right-wing.
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