“I need to stop and think,” Sanchez said in a letter published on his X social network account to Spanish citizens. “I urgently need an answer to the question of whether I should (…) continue to lead the government or give up this honor,” he wrote.
He said he would appear before the media on Monday to announce his decision.
The shock announcement was made after a Spanish court announced on Wednesday morning that it had launched a preliminary investigation into whether Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, had committed a crime of influence peddling and acts of corruption in her private businesses.
Sanchez said the severity of the attacks he and his wife were subjected to deserved a measured response.
The court investigating Gomez did not provide further details as the case is preliminary, noting only that the investigation was opened following a complaint by the campaign group Manos Limpias – “Clean Hands” – whose leader has links to the extreme -right.
Manos Limpias claims Begona that Gomez used her influence as the prime minister’s wife to obtain sponsorships for a university master’s course she was teaching.
Pedro Sanchez, 52, has been Spain’s prime minister since 2018. He managed to form a new left-wing coalition government last November and began a new four-year term. He is one of the longest-serving social democratic leaders in Europe.
Begona Gomez, 49, does not hold public office and has kept out of political life until now.
Photo: Profimedia Images
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Tags: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Considers Resigning Wifes Involvement Investigation
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