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Pedro Sánchez is considering resigning because of corruption allegations against his wife. Thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid to demonstrate for him to remain in office.
Madrid – Over 12,000 people took to the streets in Madrid on Saturday (April 27) to urge the Spanish Prime Minister to stay. Pedro Sanchez had previously announced on social networksuntil to think about resigning next Monday. The background was allegations of corruption against the wife of the Spanish head of government – raised by the anti-corruption network Manos Limpias (in German: “Clean Hands”), which is reportedly close to right-wing extremist circles.
Thousands support Sánchez: protests against possible resignation in Spain
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Madrid on Saturday in front of the headquarters of Sánchez's PSOE party, the social democratic party Spains. Posters read, among other things, “Pedro, don’t give up” or “Spain needs you.” “I hope that Sánchez will say on Monday that he is staying,” protester Sara Domínguez told AFP. The demonstrator praised the government's measures on behalf of women, the LGBTQ community and minorities.
If Sánchez resigns, there is a risk that the extreme right will take over the reins of government, said 44-year-old protester José María Díez, according to AFP. Spain would then take steps backwards “as far as rights and freedoms are concerned”. The Federal Committee of the Socialist Party also called on Sánchez not to throw in the towel. “Enough of the lies, hoaxes and verbal violence carried out without scruples. Loud and clear, we want you to remain president,” said Budget Minister María Jesús Montero, the Socialist Party’s number two, public broadcaster RTVE reported.
Sánchez has been at the helm of Spain since 2018, in a minority government since last autumn. His work is not without controversy; the amnesty for Catalan separatists in particular is a critical issue in Spain. According to observers, the head of government could raise a vote of confidence in parliament on Monday to show that the minority government still has the support of the majority of MPs.
“Fake News”? These are the allegations against Sánchez's wife Begoña Gómez
A court in Madrid accuses Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Spanish Prime Minister, of “influence peddling and corruption in business” in connection with Corona aid funds. The investigation is based on an advertisement from the Spanish newspaper El Pais Manos Limpias, an organization known as a “pseudo-union.” Sánchez himself spoke of a smear campaign by the right and right-wing extremists. The public prosecutor's office requested that the investigation be stopped, but a decision from the responsible judge is still pending.
Miguel Bernad, the secretary general of the Manos Limpias organization, had admitted that the allegations could only be based on “fake news”. El Pais previously reported. “If they are not true, those who published them must answer for the untruth,” the paper quoted Bernad as saying. At least one report on which Manos Limpias' current allegations are based was published, according to research by RTVE already confirmed to be false.
Accordingly, the Corona subsidies went to a woman who “has the same first and last name as the president’s wife, María Begoña Gómez Fernández, but is a different person who is not related to the head of the executive branch. It is a woman registered as a businesswoman in the municipality of Cantabria,” shared the sender's verification team with.
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