{"id":35581,"date":"2024-04-25T23:04:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T23:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/25\/a-puzzling-move-by-a-political-survivor-grips-spain\/"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:04:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T23:04:18","slug":"a-puzzling-move-by-a-political-survivor-grips-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/25\/a-puzzling-move-by-a-political-survivor-grips-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"A Puzzling Move by a Political Survivor Grips Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/25\/multimedia\/25spain-1-cmqj\/25spain-1-cmqj-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A Puzzling Move by a Political Survivor Grips Spain\" title=\"A Puzzling Move by a Political Survivor Grips Spain\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A wave of political turmoil crashed over Spain on Thursday as Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez publicly weighed resigning his post after a judge agreed to investigate his wife over allegations that he and other officials decried as a politically driven smear campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The judge\u2019s decision to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/24\/world\/europe\/spain-pedro-sanchez-wife.html\" title=\"\">take up the case<\/a> \u2014 which was brought by a self-described anti-graft group on the basis of online news reports about alleged influence peddling \u2014 prompted Mr. S\u00e1nchez\u2019s<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>supporters to coalesce behind him and public prosecutors to move quickly on Thursday to try to get the case dismissed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. S\u00e1nchez, whose political survival skills have for years astonished his supporters and detractors alike, wrote in a public letter Wednesday that the accusations against his wife, Bego\u00f1a G\u00f3mez, were false and amounted to harassment. One of the most prominent leftist leaders in Europe, Mr. S\u00e1nchez has canceled his public schedule while he reflects on his next move. He plans to address the nation on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Mr. S\u00e1nchez holed up with his family and resisted the entreaties of his allies to hit the campaign trail before key elections in the Catalonia region and for the European Parliament, supporters talked about mobilizing rallies to persuade him to stay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And a wide array of Spaniards, from the political elite to citizens on the streets, expressed bewilderment at the uncharacteristic retreat by a prime minister who only recently had reclaimed his post in elections last summer, and by the country\u2019s odd state of affairs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s a mess,\u201d said Pablo Sim\u00f3n, a political scientist at Carlos III University in Madrid, who said he was struck by the deeply personal tone of Mr. S\u00e1nchez\u2019s letter. He added that the investigation into Mr. S\u00e1nchez\u2019s wife of 18 years had apparently set off an emotional reaction because, politically speaking, \u201cthere were no clear incentives for this gambit; it\u2019s very risky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe has done something with no precedent in a democracy,\u201d Mr. Sim\u00f3n added, suggesting that the prime minister was betting the public would find the investigation against his wife so outrageous as to prompt a national reckoning. Mr. S\u00e1nchez sought a \u201csocial confidence vote,\u201d he said, in which he is calling on the public, the media and even the establishment opposition to take sides and decide, \u201cDo you consider this acceptable?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The trigger for the sudden crisis was the decision by a Spanish judge to entertain a complaint from Clean Hands, a group known for filing cases in court against politicians and other prominent Spaniards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The group filed a complaint accusing Ms. G\u00f3mez of influence peddling and corruption \u2014 citing as potential evidence online news reports that it has acknowledged could contain false information. The judge ordered a preliminary investigation based on those online media reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two of the articles allege that in 2020, Ms. G\u00f3mez signed two letters of recommendation to support a bid for a public contract by a group of companies to which she has personal and professional ties. The articles claim that the main stakeholder of the group designed the master\u2019s program that Ms. G\u00f3mez ran at Complutense University of Madrid and that the companies supported by Ms. G\u00f3mez competed with 20 rivals and won three contracts worth more than 10 million euros, or about $10.7 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The complaint by Clean Hands also cited an article in the online media outlet El Confidencial that claimed Ms. G\u00f3mez met with representatives of Air Europa, a Spanish airline, in 2020 to sign a confidential agreement in which the airline would pay 40,000 euros a year ($43,000) to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/africacenter\/about\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Africa Center<\/a> she led at a private university. Months later, the airline received more than \u20ac400 million in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/elpais.com\/economia\/2021-09-07\/air-europa-se-come-el-rescate-de-475-millones-y-necesitara-mas-dinero-publico-para-sobrevivir.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">bailout funds<\/a> during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a statement, the Africa Center denied it had \u201cever received financial contributions\u201d from Air Europa\u2019s parent company or affiliates. It said the Center signed during Ms. G\u00f3mez\u2019s tenure in 2020 a sponsorship deal with the airline\u2019s parent company that included four airline tickets to a work event in London, which was \u201cnever executed\u201d because of the pandemic. It said Ms. G\u00f3mez\u2019s 2018 contract specifically prevented the Center from benefiting from her \u201cfamily position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Spanish press has widely reported that one of the news reports cited by Clean Hands has already been shown to be wrong. The online paper The Objective accused the government of burying the information that a subsidy had been awarded to the prime minister\u2019s wife \u2014 but it turns out that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/telemadrid\/status\/1777681323789812065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1777683234903490915%7Ctwgr%5Ea5ff0b5bbb982938ce22a7e20dedb9967df14e71%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.publico.es%2Ftremending%2F2024%2F04%2F09%2Fvenga-a-pasar-verguencita-telemadrid-rectifica-el-bulo-sobre-begona-gomez-con-el-que-abrio-sus-informativos-el-domingo%2F\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the recipient of the subsidy<\/a> was a businesswoman in the catering industry who shares the same name as Ms. G\u00f3mez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The judge has summoned two journalists to testify about their reporting. Ms. G\u00f3mez, the wife of Mr. S\u00e1nchez, has not been summoned and has not commented on the complaint.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The government, however, has called the Clean Hands complaint groundless, arguing that Ms. G\u00f3mez did nothing irregular or improper, and that headlines linking the prime minister to corruption fed into the hands of the opposition that had slung the mud in the first place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, Spain\u2019s independent prosecuting authority made what it called a \u201cdirect appeal\u201d to the Provincial Court in Madrid to dismiss the preliminary investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Miguel Bernad, the leader of Clean Hands, has acknowledged that the complaint could be based on false information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt will now be the judge who must verify whether said journalistic information is true or not,\u201d he wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. S\u00e1nchez wrote in his public letter that the accusations against his wife, who played a key role in his political ascent, were not true.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe have been denying the falsehoods expressed, while Bego\u00f1a has taken legal action so that these same digital companies rectify what, we maintain, is spurious information,\u201d he wrote, adding it was \u201can operation of harassment and demolition by land, sea and air to try to weaken me politically and personally by attacking my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Spain, individual citizens in groups like Clean Hands can bring legal complaints even when they are not personally involved and have suffered no damages. The group\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"http:\/\/www.manos-limpias.es\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a> describes its main purpose as filing \u201call types of complaints against political or economic corruption that harms the public or general interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Spain\u2019s National Court in 2021 found the group guilty of using smear campaigns to extort banks and companies. Spain\u2019s Supreme Court overturned the decision because it said no crime was committed, but called the group\u2019s methods \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.poderjudicial.es\/cgpj\/es\/Poder-Judicial\/Noticias-Judiciales\/El-Tribunal-Supremo-absuelve-a-los-responsables-de-Ausbanc-y-Manos-Limpias-de-extorsion-y-estafa\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">reprehensible<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda D\u00edaz, the leader of the left-wing Sumar coalition, echoed the complaints of a smear campaign on Wednesday and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yolanda_Diaz_\/status\/1783211430117830785\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> that right-wing forces could \u201cnot be allowed to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Spain\u2019s main conservative opposition party, still smarting from its failure to form a government despite having received more votes than Mr. S\u00e1nchez, who outflanked them by building a broader coalition, seized the chance to pile on a political enemy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Accusing Mr. S\u00e1nchez of engaging in victimization for political gain, the center-right Popular Party insisted the prime minister tell all about \u201cthe scandals surrounding his party, his government and his partner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If Mr. S\u00e1nchez resigns, several procedures are likely, experts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His government would assume a caretaker status until Parliament agreed on a new candidate to try to cobble together a governing coalition. Mr. S\u00e1nchez could also ask Parliament to decide whether he should remain through a confidence vote requiring only a simple majority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. S\u00e1nchez could also call another snap election, as he did after his party took a shellacking in regional elections last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At that time, he managed to gather enough support to block the formation of a government by the center-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox party. He then pieced together a parliamentary majority out of the fractious, and often opposing, other parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But calling a snap election would carry risks, especially since the latest polls show his Socialist Party trailing the Popular Party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/25\/world\/europe\/spain-pedro-sanchez.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A wave of political turmoil crashed over Spain on Thursday as Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez publicly weighed resigning his post after a judge agreed to investigate his wife over allegations that he and other officials decried as a politically driven smear campaign. The judge\u2019s decision to take up the case \u2014 which was brought by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/25\/multimedia\/25spain-1-cmqj\/25spain-1-cmqj-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4621,59,234,33397,11843,5403],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35581"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35583,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35581\/revisions\/35583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}