Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who had no opponent, was reappointed Sunday as head of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) following a congress in Seville (south) dominated by corruption cases targeting several of his loved ones.
Mr. Sánchez, who has led the party since 2017 (having already been at its head between 2014 and 2016), and the list of 54 names he proposed for the party’s Executive Committee received the votes of around 90% of the 1,028 delegates who voted.
Brought forward by one year by Mr. Sánchez compared to the initial schedule in order to close ranks around him and silence critical voices, this 41st congress resulted, as expected, in the reappointment of all his loyalists to the positions keys to training.
The Minister of Budget and government number, María Jesús Montero, was thus consolidated in her position as number two in the party, while Santos Cerdán remains secretary of organization, a crucial position for control of the apparatus.
This congress, which began on Friday, took place in a context of weakening for the PSOE and Mr. Sánchez, due to the recent increase in cases of corruption or influence peddling.
Several members of the Prime Minister’s entourage are currently the target of legal investigations, first and foremost his wife Begoña Gómez, his brother David Sánchez, but also José Luis Ábalos, his former Minister of Transport, long considered his right-hand man. .
As if to illustrate this context of crisis, the boss of the socialist federation of the Community of Madrid, Juan Lobato, was forced to resign on Wednesday after having implicated a councilor from Moncloa, seat of the presidency of the government, in a affairs that have been poisoning Mr. Sánchez’s life for months.
Friday, the opening day of the Seville congress, Mr. Lobato was summoned to testify before the judge who is investigating the origin of leaks concerning an agreement negotiated between the justice system and the spouse of the right-wing president of the Community of Madrid, prosecuted for tax fraud. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether these leaks came from La Moncloa.
Weakened by the multiplication of these scandals, Mr. Sánchez is also weakened by the fact that his government – formed by the Socialist Party and the radical left of Sumar – does not have an absolute majority in Parliament, where it depends on the support of several small Basque and Catalan independence parties.
Mr. Sánchez also suffered from the controversy triggered by the tragic floods of October 29 in the southeast of the country, which left at least 230 dead, with the right-wing opposition accusing him of the chaotic management of relief, even if the president right-wing from the Valencia region is also in the hot seat.