Although we don't know the whole truth about Pedro Sánchez's fake threat to resign as Spanish prime minister on the afternoon of April 25th - the day that campaigning started for the Catalan election of May 12th - we learnt a few more things this Tuesday. First of all, that on that same day in April, a few hours earlier, the judge had notified his wife, Begoña Gómez, that she was under investigation as a possible participant in events that could constitute crimes of influence peddling and corruption in business activities. It is not excessive to attribute a relationship of cause and effect between the notification by judge Juan Carlos Peinado of Court of Investigation Number 41 at Madrid's Plaza Castilla, and the surprising announcement of Pedro Sánchez, which precipitated a strange situation in Spanish politics, as a prime minister withdrew for five days to reflect on whether he should remain at the head of the Spanish executive or resign.
But there's more to it. Not so many days ago, Sánchez denied or remained silent about the "under investigation" status of his wife (previously defined as having been accused). Why didn't he answer in the affirmative when he was asked if he knew for sure the status that Begoña Gómez had with regard to the case? How many other things are hidden under Pedro Sánchez's cloak? We will never know to what extent the eruption that he provoked in the Catalan campaign led to specific results. It is even difficult to establish definitive hypotheses about the mobilization of Socialist voters in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, which did occur and in a different proportion to what had happened in previous Catalan elections. What we do know is that, behind the institutional crisis set off by his letter to the public - which was explained to us as a response to the attacks he had undergone, not because of who he was, but because of what he represented as the leader of a progressive political option - there were other, much more personal reasons.
The events of the last few weeks, as well as the climate of tension with Sumar within the government, are more typical of the end of a legislature than anything else
This is not the only judicial front that directly affects Sánchez and the Socialists (PSOE). The European public prosecutors for their part are also investigating whether the complaint against Begoña Gómez affects contracts that were signed involving European funds, and for this reason it has asked judge Peinado if there are any contracts with European subsidies in the court procedure's documentation, so as to determine if they are competent to investigate it. On the other hand, a new report from the Central Operating Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard transferred to the judge who is investigating the key section of the alleged corruption plot over monetary commissions being levied on face mask contracts during the first stage of the Covid pandemic, claims that the former Spanish transport minister José Luis Ábalos was aware of the contracts that are being investigated by the National Audience in the context of the so-called Koldo case. The UCO justifies these claims because Koldo García forwarded information he had received on the state of the company Soluciones de Gestión in an email linked to a personal account belonging to Ábalos. From this it follows that the then-minister was aware of the fraudulent operations managed by his advisor.
If one stops to think that we are not even a year into the current Spanish legislature - the general election was on July 23rd and the investiture on November 16th - it is difficult to imagine that has much further to travel. The events of the last few weeks, with the loss or withdrawal of parliamentary bills, as well as the climate of tension with Sumar within the coalition government, are more typical of the end of a legislature than anything else. Perhaps this is the only incentive for the European elections on the horizon, which apparently inspire very little interest and whose turnout forecasts are at the moment averaging a percentage not much higher than 40%, well below the year 2019 when municipal and European elections coincided in the Spanish state and the turnout climbed above 60%.