Spanish culture and sports minister, Màxim Huerta, has this Wednesday presented his resignation, just seven days after being nominated by prime minister Pedro Sánchez. He made the announcement in a press conference at 7pm local time, under pressure after it emerged he evaded 218,322€ in taxes between 2006 and 2008 (£190,000, $260,000 at today's exchange rates). Government sources said this lunchtime that the prime minister was "calm", although he didn't consider the matter closed, with his government preparing itself to "ride out the storm".
The minister has been in touch with Sánchez throughout the day as his stance evolved. This morning he had said he wouldn't be standing down, as he is now "up to date with payments" to the Tax Agency. The labour, migration and social security minister, Magdalena Valerio, had defended him in a press conference, saying that he hadn't committed tax fraud, that it was simply a discrepancy with the Tax Office, which fined him.
In the end, however, Huerta has decided to leave his role to maintain the government's "exemplary image" as it works to regenerate Spain's institutions. The consulted sources, in fact, admitted they had set the "bar very high" with the motion of no-confidence in Mariano Rajoy, which followed his Partido Popular having been found by a court as having unknowingly benefited from the Gürtel scandal.