Spain PM's wife to stand trial for influence peddling
A Spanish court has ordered a jury trial for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife on influence peddling and embezzlement charges, deepening a political crisis that threatens to paralyze the government until the 2027 elections.
The Madrid provincial court has ordered Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to face a jury trial on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement. The court lifted a previous travel ban but did not set a date for the proceedings, and the ruling leaves no avenue for further appeals.
The case stems from an April 2024 investigation by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado into whether Gómez exploited her position as the prime minister's wife for private gain. It centres on her role co-directing a chair at Madrid's Complutense University and the alleged use of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests. The court dismissed separate charges of corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.
Sánchez and his wife firmly deny the allegations. The initial complaint was filed by an anti-corruption group with far-right ties. Sources from the prime minister's office strongly rejected the proceedings on Thursday, stating: "Anyone familiar with the investigation knows it is a political case which originated from a false complaint from a far-right organisation, based on fake news, and whose only motivation is the harassment and persecution" of Gómez.
For Spain's European partners and investors, the trial order compounds a persistent governance risk. Sánchez leads a fragile leftist government that relies on intricate parliamentary negotiations to pass legislation and manage the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. With the prime minister vowing to serve out his term until the next scheduled general election in 2027, these protracted legal battles threaten to exhaust his administration's political capital and stall key economic reforms.
The judicial ruling lands at a particularly sensitive moment for the Spanish government. On Tuesday, a court banned Sánchez's brother, David Sánchez, from holding public office for nine years after convicting him of administrative misconduct tied to the creation of a tailor-made local government job.
Furthermore, separate corruption affairs have recently ensnared former Socialist party heavyweights and Sánchez's own political mentor, former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. This expanding web of legal troubles has provided substantial ammunition to the opposition.
The main conservative Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party argue the succession of scandals reveals systemic corruption within the Socialist leadership. Both parties are demanding Sánchez's immediate resignation and the calling of early elections. The PP summed up the opposition's stance by declaring: "This is an unprecedented situation in Spanish democracy and inconceivable in any European democracy."
Sánchez continues to defend his government's probity, showing no signs of stepping down. However, as the legal process moves toward a jury trial, the political friction in Madrid is guaranteed to intensify over the coming months.
