Spanish PM's brother convicted as graft probes squeeze coalition
A Spanish court has banned Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s brother from public office for nine years, compounding a series of corruption investigations that threaten the stability of Spain's minority government.
A court in Badajoz has convicted David Sánchez of administrative misconduct, barring him from holding public office and exercising his voting rights for nine years. The composer and orchestra director was found guilty as a necessary accomplice in the unlawful creation of a public position. He was tried alongside 10 other defendants but was cleared of the more serious charge of influence peddling, which spared him a prison sentence.
The court ruled that the role of coordinator of music conservatories in the western province of Badajoz was created "to serve the private interest of its recipient and not the public interest." Judges noted the position was "neither necessary nor urgent." "Such unethical practices harm democratic institutions and foster corruption and unequal opportunities," the court wrote in its ruling. The job was established in 2016 under a provincial council governed by the Socialist Party, before Pedro Sánchez became prime minister in 2018.
David Sánchez remained in the post, which was later transformed into the head of the province's performing arts office, until at least early 2025. His career prior to this role included training and professional engagements in Saint Petersburg, Toulouse, Tokyo and Madrid. The conviction centers strictly on the administrative irregularities of his public employment in Extremadura.
The ruling carries significant political weight because it compounds a cascade of corruption investigations involving figures close to the Spanish prime minister. Last month, Sánchez's former right-hand man, José Luis Ábalos, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption. Additionally, the prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, and former Socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a key ally, are both currently under investigation over alleged influence peddling linked to kickbacks.
For European markets and investors, this accumulation of legal pressure raises concrete doubts about the viability of Pedro Sánchez’s minority left-wing coalition. A weakened or collapsing government in Madrid could stall fiscal reforms and infrastructure spending. As a major eurozone economy, prolonged political instability in Spain threatens to complicate the country's economic governance and its ability to project consensus within EU councils.
