Pedro Sánchez is facing what critics call “hell before Christmas.” That’s how Cuca Gamarra, spokesperson for the opposition People’s Party (PP), describes the Socialist leader’s current predicament as he juggles corruption investigations targeting his family and party members.
Sánchez’s allies dismiss the scandals as a politically charged witch hunt designed to derail his fragile parliamentary majority. “The government of Pedro Sánchez is at a critical juncture, it’s in a very difficult position,” explained political scientist Lluís Orriols, author of Democracia de trincheras (Trench Democracy). “His previous term was marked by legislative success and stability, but now things couldn’t be more different.”
Three separate investigations have emerged—one involving his wife, another focusing on his brother, and a third examining alleged graft by top Socialist Party officials.
Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, has been under scrutiny since April over accusations of using her position as the prime minister’s spouse to influence government contracts. She’s also accused of misappropriating software from Complutense University, where she once worked. Appearing before the investigating judge for the third time on December 18, she denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Sánchez’s brother, David Sánchez, is under investigation for alleged irregularities surrounding his appointment as director of the performing arts office in Badajoz. He’s set to testify in court on January 9.
Both cases stem from legal complaints filed by the far-right group Manos Limpias, which Sánchez’s supporters view as part of a broader right-wing campaign. According to María Jesús Montero, finance minister and deputy secretary of the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), “We know that they want to corral you through your family, we know that they are going after you because you represent the best of progress in Spain.”
The timing of these probes, which began just months after Sánchez’s new coalition government formed, has raised eyebrows. Back in April, when the investigation into his wife surfaced, Sánchez threatened to resign, calling the accusations an effort to “dehumanize and delegitimize the political adversary through scandalous and false accusations.”
Now, with both his family and party under a microscope, the Socialist leader faces one of the toughest tests of his political career.
