Sanchez remains as Spain’s prime minister

Last week, Sánchez said he was considering resigning as a court opened an investigation into his wife, Begona Gómez, on suspicion of corruption.

“I have decided to stay,” he said in a televised address on Monday.

Sanchez said his decision to stay was influenced by the fact that thousands of emotional supporters gathered outside the headquarters of his Socialist Party in Madrid over the weekend, chanting: “Pedro, stay!”

A Madrid court announced on Wednesday that it had opened an investigation against Gomez on suspicion of abuse of influence and corruption in response to a complaint by the organization “Manos Limpias” (“Clean Hands”). The leader of the organization is connected to the extreme right.

The court’s announcement came hours after the online news site El Confidencial reported that investigators were looking into Gomez’s links to several private companies that received state funding or government orders. The publication stated that the investigation is related to Gomez’s alleged ties to the Spanish travel company Globalia, which owns Air Europa.

El Confidencial reported that Gomez met twice with Globalia CEO Javier Hidalgo while the airline was negotiating with the government to receive support following the aviation crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sanchez stressed that the complaint was based on non-existent facts and was part of a persecution campaign against his wife led by the ultra-conservative media and supported by the conservative and far-right opposition.

On Wednesday, on the “X” platform, Sánchez said that he had to “stop and think” whether to continue leading the government.

On Thursday, the prosecutor’s office asked to end the investigation against Gomez,

Alberto Núñez Feijo, leader of the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP), said on Thursday that Sánchez was just “putting on a show”.