The Diplomat
The decision of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to announce the cancellation of his public agenda for a few days to “reflect” on whether or not he continues to lead the Executive after the investigations into his wife, Begoña Gómez, has hit the front pages of the major international media.
In the United States, The New York Times headlined on its front page: “Spanish leader says he is considering resigning while his wife is investigated.” “The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has suspended his public functions and has stated that the investigation into alleged influence peddling by his wife has political motivations,” it adds.
For its part, The Washington Post reports that “the president of Spain says he will consider resigning after his wife has been the subject of a judicial investigation,” while the American economic and financial newspaper Bloomberg goes further in its analysis and headline: “Sánchez threatens to resign, putting Spain on an electoral path.”
In Brussels, the influential newspaper Político headlines: “Pedro Sánchez threatens to resign as president of the Spanish Government.” The president of the Government, the newspaper claims, has spread this “shocking announcement” and this “explosive letter” alleging “months of attacks by the right against his family.”
“Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez halts public duties as his wife faces inquiry,” the BBC headlines in the United Kingdom on its website. According to the British public broadcaster, the complaint against Begoña Gómez comes from the “anti-corruption activists Clean Hands, who have “participated in several high-profile judicial cases in recent years and are led by a man linked to the extreme right.”
For its part, The Times headlines: “Pedro Sánchez is considering resigning as prime minister.” “The Spanish leader has announced that he would suspend his public duties to reflect on his future, just a few hours after news emerged that his wife was being investigated for corruption accusations,” adds the newspaper, which includes an analysis article titled “What does Pedro Sánchez’s threat to resign mean for Spain?”
The Daily Telegraph reports that Pedro Sánchez has blamed the accusations against his wife on a “right-wing plot to tarnish his reputation” and The Guardian headlines “Spanish PM considers resigning over political harassment in response to investigation into his wife” and adds that Sánchez “has suspended his public functions and has attacked the media and opponents.”
For its part, the Financial Times reports that “the Spanish prime minister suspends his public duties after the corruption investigation of his wife” and the British news agency Reuters affirms that the letter published by Pedro Sánchez has been “shocking.”
In France, Le Monde opens with the headline: “Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he is considering resigning after announcing an investigation against his wife for corruption.” Likewise, he explains that the open investigation against Begoña Gómez is related to “alleged crimes of influence peddling and corruption.”
The progressive newspaper Libération asks, on its front page, “Will Spain lose its Prime Minister?”, while Le Figaro headlines: “Spain: with his wife under investigation, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, says he is considering resigning.” According to the newspaper, Sánchez’s letter is “neither a letter of resignation nor a statement of reaction”, but rather “an unidentified political object” that has surprised all of Spain.
In Germany, the sensational newspaper Bild headlines: “An explosion in Spain!” “The reason: investigations against his wife, Begoña Gómez!”, continues the German tabloid, adding the PP’s accusations that the President of the Government is looking for spectacle.
For its part, Der Spiegel reports on its front page that “Spanish President Sánchez is thinking out loud about resigning” and asks: “Will the President of the Spanish Government surrender?” Another German media, Süddeutsche Zeitung, speaks of “anger, resignation and self-pity” and describes the letter from the President of the Government as “emotional”.
In Italy, La Repubblica headlines with “Sánchez threatens: ‘Fang against my wife, I am ready to resign’”, and both this newspaper and La Stampa quote a phrase by Pedro Sánchez in Congress: “Despite everything, I continue to believe in Justice”. For its part, Il Corriere della Sera reports that “Premier Sánchez’s wife is under investigation.”
In Portugal, Diário de Noticias limits itself to highlighting that Sánchez’s letter is a “surprising announcement” and the newspaper Público headlines on the front page: “Pedro Sánchez cancels his agenda to consider his ‘continuation in the Government’”.
For her part, the correspondent for Spain and Portugal of the Dutch public television NOS, Miral de Bruijne, points out that “the Sánchez Government was already unstable and with these events it will only get worse. “Regardless of whether the President of the Government resigns on Monday or not, this seems to be the beginning of a political crisis in Spain.”
External solidarity
Yesterday, Sánchez received some support from abroad. Specifically, Luis Arce, president of Bolivia, expressed his solidarity with the president of the Government on the social network X and he denounced the “political and media lynching” of which he is the object and encouraged combating the “anti-politics” of those who “undermine democracy with lies.”
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, also expressed his solidarity with Sánchez. And he stated: “Politics is a contest of ideas, not a litany of insults, abuse and attacks against the family.” In his X account, he added a statement from the Gibraltarian Government, in which he expressly encouraged Sánchez to “continue and “fight against the politics of personal vilification that the right has appropriated.”
