Socialist Spanish PM Refuses to Step Down Amid Corruption Probe, Vows to Clamp Down on ‘Mud Machine’ Media

 

Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has refused to step down amid allegations of corruption against his wife and is in turn vowing to launch a government crackdown against the right-wing online media over supposed fake news. Listen To Story

 

In a roller coaster of events, Prime Minister Sánchez announced on Monday that he would not resign after announcing last week that he was taking five days off to contemplate his political future. This followed the opening of a corruption case against his wife Begoña Gómez, who is facing claims of using her role as the unofficial but de-facto First Lady of Spain to allegedly dole out lucrative government contracts to firms she has been linked to financially.

 

The centre-right El Confidencial newspaper alleged that the Africa Centre of the Institute of Business, where Gómez worked, received a “sponsorship agreement” from the travel firm Globalia.

 

At the same time, Globalia was in talks with the Sánchez government to secure a €475 million ($506m/£407m) bailout for its airline Air Europa during the Chinese coronavirus crisis. According to the paper, at least 15,000 was given to Gómez’s Africa Centre for first-class plane tickets for the first lady and her team.

 

In response to the reports, the trade unionist anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) lodged a formal complaint against Gómenz, prompting a judicial investigation into her alleged corruption. Questions have been raised, however, about the veracity of the claims, with Manos Limpias admitting that at least one of the articles cited in its complaint appeared to be false.

 

While neither Sánchez nor his wife have directly denied the allegations, the prime minister returned from his period of contemplation coming out swinging, vowing to crack down on what he branded as the “mud machine” right-wing online media.

 

He promised a programme of “democratic regeneration”, targeting the spread of alleged fake news and vowing transparency laws surrounding donations to news websites. Sánchez also said that he would seek to pass legislation granting the government new powers to remove judges.

 

Right Wing Bloc First in Spain Elections But Falls Seven Seats Short of Majority… Socialist PM Sánchez Could Cling to Power with Help of Catalonian Separatists https://t.co/SR0zOl0mYq

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 24, 2023

 

 

 

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