Spain was stunned to discover how three of Pedro Sánchez’s four closest friends, who accompanied him in taking power first in the PSOE and then in the government, allegedly rigged elections, collected millions in commissions from public works contracts they awarded from the government, and placed their prostitutes in public sector jobs.
A nearly 500-page report compiled by the Civil Guard transcribes eight audio recordings from meetings where they divided money obtained by allegedly rigging contracts in Navarra, Logroño, Murcia… throughout Spain. The affected companies, with Acciona as the largest alleged beneficiary, claim to be unaware of the matter and state they will investigate, again.
So, after dismissing Santos Cerdán—his right-hand man in the party, the organizational secretary, the man who negotiated fugitive Puigdemont’s support to form a government after losing the elections—Pedro Sánchez appeared before the press. He essentially said he was “deeply disappointed,” that he “apologized,” and that he would commission an external audit of the PSOE’s accounts, whose executive committee he intends to reform, again.
When asked about the possibility of calling elections, the president was clear: he will hold on as long as he can. And he can, because the parties that support him in Congress know that the weaker Sánchez is, the more concessions they can extract from him. So, after feigning shock, they have all demanded explanations and made it clear they will continue to support him.
Sánchez, for his part, claims to have been unaware of everything that was happening. He apologized and explained that “this isn’t about me.” He suggested that he is actually serving a project of progress that goes beyond him and “even beyond the PSOE,” meaning “the elections will be in 2027.”
