Spanish Socialists and the Corruption Scandal. Sànchez Promises a Hard Fist: “We Will Not Cover Up Anything, We Will Be Intransigent”

How much time does Pedro Sànchez have ahead of him as head of government in Spain ? The question is almost like a lottery for a political leader who has been given up for dead several times and who has always managed to pick up the pieces, emerging from the rubble without a speck of dust. Now, however, it is time to repeat a formula perhaps already used in the past: it is the moment of the most acute crisis for the socialist government that has led the country for seven years marked by ups and downs, in popular consensus and in the unity of its majorities, sometimes even multi-colored. The Socialist Prime Minister is under siege: the corruption investigation that goes by the name of “ Caso Koldo ” has climbed one step after another up the PSOE organizational chart, reaching number 3 Santos Cerdan , who today resigned from his managerial positions and as a deputy, and joins other high-profile suspects such as the former Minister of Transport José Luis Abalos and the latter's consultant, Koldo García Izaguirre (hence the journalistic name of the story). Cerdan is accused of alleged corruption and criminal association in a case of bribes on public contracts: according to investigators, he was the intermediary of the bribes in favor of Abalos and Koldo Garcia. Both Abalos and Cerdan were figures appointed to the top of the party by the leader himself, Sànchez.

Today, the Socialist leader - who has made the fight against corruption a point of pride and an electoral campaign theme - appeared before journalists to say that he is putting "his face" on it: "We are putting our face on it, we will act with determination because obviously we are not perfect, but we are uncompromising when corruption affects us". "We will not cover up corruption in our ranks - he claims -, because the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a clean organization and this is the only case of alleged corruption that has affected this organization since I have had the honor of leading it". Sànchez has already replaced Cerdan after a marathon meeting of the party executive with a quadrumvirate that will also include president Cristina Narbona . He confirmed the expulsion of Abalos after disciplinary proceedings initiated in 2021. He spoke of an independent audit of the Socialist Party's accounts . He announced a parliamentary commission of inquiry to be set up in Congress. He assured that he will go to the Chamber to "give the necessary explanations to the parliamentary groups", especially those that support the coalition that he leads.

And yet, despite the confidence that always characterizes the Spanish Prime Minister's way of being on the public stage, these have been hours of passion for him: the playing field is not only that of his party (where a "reformist" wing is still there, always ready for the long-awaited reconquest ), but also that of the government majority, struggling with a general crisis of consensus. This is also why Moncloa , the seat of government in Madrid, continues to shout to exclude any possibility of an early vote because "the legislature needs to be completed to continue the enormous process of transformation that this government is carrying out". Paradoxically - or perhaps not - the problems for Sànchez come more from the left than from the right. Podemos will not even show up at the talks that Sànchez has promised with the leaders of the government forces. And he used these words, through his spokesman Pablo Fernandez : "We will not participate in the recycling operation of a corrupt party". According to Fernandez "it is absolutely clear that Sànchez is not legitimized". And so everything falls apart? Not at all, at least for now, because Irene Montero – former minister and now secretary of the party now much reduced compared to the wave of the Indignados from which it originated – assures that Podemos “will never favor an executive” of the right. In the meantime, Sànchez has already begun consultations with the leader of Sumar, the Minister of Labor Yolanda Diaz , his most trusted ally.

“Handing over the reins of the country to a coalition of the PP and Vox would be a huge irresponsibility ,” Sànchez repeats, comparing himself to a “captain” who has the “duty” to stay “at the helm and face the storm.” And he opens his chest to Alberto Feijòo – leader of the Popular Party – and Santiago Abascal – head of the far-right Vox “If Mr. Feijoo and Abascal are convinced that the government has lost the parliamentary majority that legitimises it, what they must do is present a motion of censure and tell the country and the citizens what model of government they have for Spain”. It is a way of throwing the ball back to the other side because the “centre-right” – which has never existed in Spain and has not done very well at a local level so far – is not immune to internal divisions. And in fact Abascal with the pirate language that distinguishes him makes himself strong with the “three million Vox voters that I represent and in the name of millions of Spaniards who want to put an end to humiliation, betrayal, theft and counting” and asks “the deputies who are not involved in corruption to join Vox in presenting a motion of censure”. The exit was immediately skewered by the Popolari, provocative to the point of putting the socialist leader and Giorgia Meloni 's partner party on the same level. "Sanchez and Vox are challenging us to present a motion of censure to the government. Today a motion of no confidence would be equivalent to giving oxygen to 'Sanchism' and I can assure you that the Popular Party will not give a breath of oxygen to Sanchez", said spokesman Borja Semper . The PP knows it does not have the votes in Parliament: it is more useful to hope to bring Sànchez to the end of the legislature in 2027, dreaming of finally being able to defeat "Sanchism" as a result of its self-implosion (hoped for by the right-wing electorate), in short, trusting that the dream will no longer turn out to be just another illusion.