Spain’s socialist PM Pedro Sanchez reveals he will NOT quit after suspending himself for five days to ‘reflect on his future’ amid corruption probe into his wife

Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared this morning that he will not quit as leader of the country after a period of reflection on his future.

Sánchez made the announcement five days after a court said it would investigate his wife, Begona Gomez, for influence peddling and business corruption; accusations that he said were false and orchestrated by his right-wing opponents.

The 52-year-old surprised enemies and allies alike when he said on Wednesday he was stepping back from his public duty for several days to consider resigning amid the allegations, leading to large demonstrations by his supporters over the weekend.

Spanish politics were thrown into turmoil by the prospect of the prime minister resigning, potentially leading to another fractious vote in parliament to elect a new prime minister or even a fourth general election in five years.

But after meeting with King Felipe VI this morning – a step that would have been necessary had he decided to step down – Sánchez announced in a televised speech that he had informed the monarch of his decision to stay in office.

‘I have decided to continue, if possible even stronger as Prime Minister. This is not business as usual, things will be different,” he said in a national broadcast.

Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, said today that his decision to stay was “decisively” influenced by widespread expressions of support over the weekend.

Thousands of supporters gathered outside his Socialist party’s headquarters in Madrid, chanting: “Pedro, stay!” and condemning criticism of his wife.

As news emerged on Wednesday that Gomez was under investigation, Sanchez wrote a four-page letter to the Spanish public, posted on X, saying he would consider tendering his resignation.

He said attacks on his wife had “crossed the line of respect for a prime minister’s family life, with an attack on his personal life” and expressed frustration at his “powerlessness” to protect her from attacks.

“I have to think about whether I should continue to lead the government or give up this honor,” he said.

Speaking today, he denied that the move was a “political calculation”, saying he must “stop and think” about the growing polarization within politics, which he said is increasingly driven by “deliberate disinformation”.

“We have allowed this filth to corrupt our political and public life for too long with poisonous methods that were unthinkable just a few years ago… Do we really want this for Spain?” he asked.

“I have acted with a clear conviction: either we say ‘enough is enough’, or this degradation of public life will define our future and condemn us as a country.”

Sánchez previously said that the action against his wife is part of a campaign of “intimidation” against them, carried out by “media strongly influenced by the right and the far right” and supported by the right-wing opposition.

The Public Prosecution Service asked for the investigation to be closed on Thursday.

Sánchez, aA political survival expert who made his career by taking political gambles, suspended all his public duties and quietly retired.

The court opened an investigation into Sanchez’s wife following a complaint from the anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader has ties to the far right.

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

Although the court did not provide details about the case, the online news site El Confidencial said it was related to its ties to several private companies that received government funding or won government contracts.

Sanchez and Gomez first met at a party and have been married since 2006. They have two daughters together, Ainhoa, born in 2005, and Carlota, in 2007.

Gomez has been described as the prime minister’s “Achilles heel” because she is “the only person who has been by his side throughout his political and life journey,” national newspaper El Pais reported.

It added that “his wife has been part of all the decisions that have marked his career.”

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

They are particularly angry over his decision to grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists who face legal action over their role in the northeastern region’s failed push for independence in 2017.

That amnesty, in exchange for the support of Catalan separatist parties, must still be definitively approved in parliament.

The opposition has since Wednesday mocked Sánchez’s decision to withdraw from his public duties for a few days, dismissing it as an attempt to rally his supporters.

“A head of government cannot show himself as a teenager and have everyone run after him, begging him not to leave and not to get angry,” sneered Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the right-wing opposition Popular Party. on Thursday.

Sánchez, he said, had subjected Spain to “international shame.”

Before withdrawing from his public duties for several days, Sánchez was due to launch his party’s campaign on Thursday for the May 12 regional elections in Catalonia, in which his Socialists hope to oust pro-independence forces from power.