The police’s counter-intelligence agency raided the headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party in Madrid, increasing pressure on the prime minister, who is already facing a row affecting close allies.
Spain’s National Court has confirmed that officers from the elite Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Thivil (police) were sent to gather evidence as part of an investigation into an alleged scheme to defame government critics who have taken legal action against it.
At the same time, the indictment of Ana Fuentes, who has been managing the party’s finances since 2021, was announced for her alleged involvement both in this plan and in other illegal activities.
Official opposition leader and head of the center-right Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijo, called on Sanchez to resign. The Spanish prime minister, however, ruled out an early exit before the end of the current parliamentary term in August 2027.
“I cannot call elections for party interests. I have to call elections only when it serves the general interest of the citizens,” Sanchez told reporters in Rome after meeting Pope Leo XVI.
The raid on the offices comes a week after the National Court indicted former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a close ally of Sanchez, for alleged money laundering, influence peddling and other crimes linked to the 2021 bailout of the Plus Ultra airline.
The case comes to be added to a series of corruption scandals that touch members of Sanchez’s own family, officials of his government and even the Socialist Party itself.
Nervousness in the governing coalition
The key question now concerns the cumulative impact of the revelations on the Socialists’ government partners.
The parties that supported the formation of the left-wing government coalition in 2023 appear increasingly wary of the prime minister.
Enrique Santiago, an MP for the leftist Sumar party, said funding irregularities were a “red line” for his party, which is the junior government partner. He even warned that Sumar would leave the government if the charges against the Socialists were proven.
For his part, the head of the Basque Nationalist Party, Aitor Esteban, said on Sunday that Sanchez should call early elections before the end of the year, saying it would be “very difficult” to stay in power until 2027.
“There are already nine open cases and now Thapatero is added,” he said. “It would be irresponsible to continue this situation beyond 2026, with no clear direction, no budget, no stable majority and a political agenda dominated by court cases.”
Another key Sanchez ally, Gabriel Ruffian of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), said on Monday that a “red line” for his party was potential evidence of systematic corruption in party funding.
Ruffian recalled that his party had supported the 2018 motion of impeachment, which ousted then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, following the revelations of the major corruption scandal that had hit the People’s Party. “If there is a similar case with the Socialists, then we will ask for elections. It is the logical thing”, he emphasized.
Complex political balances
However, Spain’s constitutional framework and complex political alliances make an immediate departure from power for Sanchez rather unlikely.
In Spain, a prime minister can only be removed through a motion of no confidence accompanied by the nomination of an alternative candidate with a parliamentary majority.
The most likely replacement for Sanchez would be Feijo, however to secure the required majority he would need the support of both the far-right Vox and regional parties such as the Basque Nationalist Party or the Catalan separatist Junts.
Basque nationalists need the Socialists to continue governing in the Basque Country region, while the Junts would be unlikely to make moves that could jeopardize separatist leader Carles Puigdemont’s return from self-imposed exile. Sanchez had passed a controversial amnesty law for Catalan separatist leaders, securing support for the Junts in 2023, but Spanish courts have so far blocked its implementation.
With these data, there are not a few who estimate that ultimately only Sanchez himself has the ability to decide whether he will lead the country to early elections.
