Corruption scandals are engulfing Spanish politics

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Police officers spent 12 hours searching the headquarters of Spain’s ruling Socialist Party last week. The raid was part of an investigation into an alleged dirty tricks campaign aimed at undermining judicial investigations.

So what? It is just one episode in a string of corruption scandals surrounding the government of Pedro Sánchez. Allegations also hang over the prime minister’s political allies and relatives, giving the impression of a political system that is rotten to its core. These cases

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  are fracturing Sanchez’s coalition;

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  have contributed to a series of local election defeats; and

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  are prompting calls for the prime minister’s resignation.

Same coin. Sánchez is lauded abroad by liberals for standing up to Donald Trump, welcoming immigration and presiding over a booming economy. At home, he is fighting for his political survival as a result of what the opposition has dubbed “the Socialists’ Watergate”.

The mentor. One of the biggest scandals centres on José Zapatero, a former Socialist prime minister who has been charged with money laundering, influence peddling and other offences in connection with the €53 million bailout of an airline during the pandemic. Zapatero is a stalwart of the Spanish left and a close confidant of Sanchez.

Brown envelopes. Another case involves former party secretary Santos Cerdán and former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, who has already been on trial related to a €50 million purchase of facemasks. The pair are implicated in a kick-back scheme involving public works contracts. Ábalos was expelled from the party in 2024, but Cerdán’s alleged participation is particularly damaging for Sánchez since the prime minister has publicly defended him.

Closer to home. Sánchez’s family is also under suspicion. In April his wife, Begoña Gómez, was charged with embezzlement of public funds, corruption in business and influence peddling after a two-year police investigation. Last month Sanchez’s brother, David, went on trial for allegedly using his political ties to get a government job as a regional music director.

There’s more. Other cases involve allegations of meddling in court proceedings and of a slush fund used to make payments to senior party figures. The leader of the opposition People’s Party has described the flurry of corruption scandals as a “criminal carousel”.

Rearguard action. Sánchez has complained of a “mud machine” aimed at ousting him and dismissed the allegations against his wife and brother as an “obscene farce”. Both cases were opened following complaints filed by an anti-corruption activist group with links to the hard right.

Familiar story. Spain’s young democracy, founded after Francisco Franco’s death in 1975, is no stranger to corruption. Sanchez came to power on the back of a kickback scandal within the PP. But the cases engulfing the Socialists could prove more controversial due to their sheer volume.

Voters are fed up. There have been four local elections this year, and the Socialists have lost seats in all but one of them. The latest was in Andalusia, where the People’s Party is poised to form a coalition with Vox, a far-right outfit that wants to deport migrants.

Political calculations. Sanchez has ruled out calling an election before next August, when his term ends. The opposition could oust him through a no-confidence vote, which would likely pave the way for a PP national government propped by Vox. But other opposition parties are reluctant to hand power to the hard right, meaning Sanchez could limp on as prime minister.

What’s more… It is not just the Socialists under fire. A former PP minister is on trial over claims he tried to ensure the party’s historic kickback scheme never came to light.

Photograph by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty Images