His wife under investigation for fraud, Spain's prime minister suspends the exercise of the office

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced he will suspend office until next week to decide whether he wants to continue leading the government after a court launched a fraud investigation into his wife.

" I need to take a break and think ," Sanchez wrote in a letter shared on the social media platform X, announcing that he would suspend the exercise of his public duties until Monday, when he will have taken a decision.

" I urgently need to answer the question of whether... I should continue to lead the government, or give up this honor ," writes Sanches.

Why is Pedro Sanchez's wife being investigated?

The court announced that it had launched an investigation "for abuse of power and corruption" in response to a complaint from the anti-corruption group "Manos Limpias" ("Clean Hands"), whose leader has ties to the extreme right. Specifically, the preliminary investigation is related to the question of whether Begona Gomez has abused her position as the prime minister's wife to secure suspected sponsors for a university master's course that she directs.

Sanchez: Campaign led by "ultraconservative" media

Socialist Prime Minister Sanchez, who has just formed a new leftist coalition government after offering amnesty to exiled Catalan separatists, said in his letter that the complaint was based on "non-existent" facts and was part of a campaign of "harassment" against the woman his campaign, which is led by the "ultra-conservative" media and supported by the far-right conservative opposition.

"I am not naive. I am aware that they are bringing charges against Begona, not because she has done anything illegal, because they know very well that this is not true, but because she is my wife," he added.

People's Prosecutor

Manos Limpias calls itself an association, but its main activity is pursuing legal issues as a so-called "people's prosecutor". This feature of Spanish law allows individuals or entities to participate as accusers in certain criminal cases even when they have not been directly harmed by the accused.

However, many of the issues that Manos Limpias pursues are related to right-wing causes./dw