New scandal in Sanchez's party. There was corruption, there is sexual harassment

A new scandal in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), this time involving allegations of sexual harassment, has hit Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's party as it tries to defuse a recent corruption scandal in its inner circle.

“I stand here with a heavy heart but with unshakable determination,” Sanchez said on Saturday during a meeting of the PSOE federal committee, convened after the outbreak of a corruption scandal in the head of government’s inner circle.

This primarily concerns his close associate Santos Cerdan, who is accused of, among other things, participating in a criminal group involved in manipulating public works tenders. On Monday, a Supreme Court judge decided to temporarily arrest Cerdan, without the possibility of bail.

Saturday's congress of the PSOE federal committee was supposed to be Sanchez's response to the scandal; the prime minister had earlier announced an audit and personnel changes in the party, but refused to call early parliamentary elections.

The attempt at a reform in the PSOE was, however, overshadowed by another scandal, which was reported by elDiario.es on the eve of the congress. Francisco Salazar, one of the party's leading members, was accused by several party colleagues of "inappropriate behavior."

Following the accusations, Salazar resigned from his party and administration functions, and the PSOE announced an investigation into his case. The party said it had not received any signals in this regard.

As a result of the corruption scandal, Sanchez's party has seen an unprecedented drop in support in the polls since the last parliamentary elections, losing around 6-8 percentage points to the opposition People's Party (PP). The next parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2027.

Despite Sanchez's rejection of the scenario of early parliamentary elections, there are voices within the PSOE itself calling for the government to submit to a vote of confidence, a call made by, among others, the head of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Emiliano Garcia-Page.

From Madrid Marcin Furdyna (PAP)

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