his wife under investigation, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he is considering resigning

“Is all this worth it? I do not know (…). I have to stop and think (…) whether I should remain at the head of the government or give up this great honor (…). I will continue to work, but I will cancel my public agenda (…). On Monday, April 29, I will go before the media and announce my decision.. This is not a resignation letter signed by Pedro Sánchez, the head of the Spanish executive. Nor is it a statement of reaction to the opening of a judicial investigation against his wife Begoña Sánchez, who was accused in the press and then in court of being caught in a possible conflict of interest. It is an unidentified political object, which Sánchez calls a “letter to citizens” and which he published on Wednesday on the X network shortly after 7 p.m. A text that surprised the whole of Spain and, apparently, most of the ministers and leaders of its formation, the Socialist Party (PSOE).

The Spanish media immediately speculated about the deep motivation, sincere or tactical, of such an announcement, as well as its promised outcome for Monday. Television shows questioned editors of all stripes, whose opinions were directly related to their editorial line.

Most of the guests, known for their conservative positions, have come up with a strategic plan. “Campaign Coup”evaluated by the Telecinco directorEl Mundothree weeks before the Catalan regional elections on May 12 and a month and a half before the European elections. “Looking for empathy from citizens”, added an analyst on the same channel. The fact is that Sanchez thinks so in his letter of just over three pages “We often forget that behind political leaders are people. And no, I’m not ashamed to say it, I’m a man deeply in love with my wife who helplessly experiences the mud that is poured on her every day.. And we saw in Parliament a few hours earlier how, visibly moved, they said that despite the context, he “continued to believe in justice [son] Earth”.

“His entourage had to convince him”

The media left, on the contrary, sees it as proof of the leader’s humanity “who suffers everything from the right-wing opposition”as the director of ElDiario.es Ignacio Escolar said on the channel La Sexta. “If he announced his decision today, it would be to say that he is leaving. Those around him must have convinced him to think about it for a few days”. And it is precisely on other phrases that these commentators put emphasis, such as qualification“unprecedented attack” revelations about the activities of the wife of the head of government.

The latter is questioned by an online newspaper whose reputation for investigation is a poor match for the qualifiers “constellation of ultraconservative stocks” and from “media with a pronounced right-wing and extreme right-wing orientation” thus Sanchez rewards the press that accuses him. ElConfidencial.com list of revelations about meetings between Begoña Gómez and the manager of an industrial group whose airline benefited from a rescue plan of several hundred million euros during the pandemic… The company also sponsored the activities of a private educational group of which Begoña Gómez managed a specialized center for Africa .

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On the other hand, the significance of the legal action motivated by this media information, known this Monday, and which Sanchez presented as the motivation for his letter, is minimized by many observers. The investigation responds to the action of the Manos Limpias association, which carries out a popular prosecution, a kind of “second prosecution” that allows illegal behavior to be condemned without the complainant being the victim – unlike civil parties. However, Manos Limpias is used to poorly prepared cases and was accused of extortion by banks and large companies, he was convicted at first instance, and then acquitted on appeal due to lack of evidence. Especially known for her action against Infanta Cristina, Felipe VI’s sister, and her husband, she had never before managed to cause such a political coup.