Pedro Sánchez, on the ropes in Congress

Madrod. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, facing a major corruption scandal within his party, announced yesterday the launch of an anti-corruption plan, which was not enough to quell calls for his resignation from the opposition or the doubts of his allies.

Among the 15 measures listed by the Prime Minister in the Congress of Deputies are the creation of an "independent public integrity agency," the use of artificial intelligence to detect "signs of fraud" in the public contract awarding platform, random checks on the assets of senior officials, and strengthened protections for whistleblowers.

Sánchez explained that he considered resigning due to the corruption scandals affecting his party, but decided to "continue." "I want to tell the citizens and their honors that I'm not going to throw in the towel and that we will continue," Sánchez said.

The opposition, Sánchez said, was quick to "demand early elections again and my resignation. And I must tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that frankly, I myself considered these options in the early stages of this crisis."

Sánchez appeared before Congress to explain the imprisonment last week of his former deputy, Santos Cerdán, in a case involving bribes in exchange for public works that also implicated his former Transport Minister, José Luis Ábalos. Both were very close to Sánchez and instrumental in his rise to the Socialist leadership and, in 2018, to power.

The most damaging aspect for the PSOE was the publication of recordings of conversations in which the alleged perpetrators discussed the distribution of kickbacks for public works projects and the qualities of prostitutes.

Last weekend, the resignation of a close associate of Sánchez, Francisco Salazar, who was to have formed part of the party's new leadership in the restructuring following Cerdán's departure, was also announced. Salazar, accused of "inappropriate sexual conduct" by several Socialist women, was published in an article in the online media outlet eldiario.es.

“Criminal organization”

In response to Sánchez's speech, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the Popular Party, the largest opposition party, rejected the Prime Minister's explanations and called the Socialists a "criminal organization."

"All these years they have operated like a criminal organization," said the conservative leader, calling Sánchez a "destroyed politician" and once again urging him to bring forward the elections.

"He didn't come to clean up anything, but to dirty everything: his party, politics, and the nation of which he is no longer a worthy representative," added Núñez Feijóo, addressing Sánchez.

"How are you going to get us out of this nightmare if you got us into it? The best thing for you is to confess everything you know, help return the loot, and call elections."