Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that he had “decided to continue leading the government of Spain”.
“I have decided to move forward with more force at the helm of the government of Spain”, said Sanchez, who announced the decision to King Felipe VI, after 5 days of suspense for “a pause for reflection”, in which he withdrew from the public life, after an “unprecedented” campaign waged by the right and far right against his wife, Begona Gomez, aimed, according to him, “at destroying him and his government”. “This is not about the fate of a particular leader. It’s about understanding what kind of society we want to be. Our country needs this reflection,” Sanchez said.
“For too long we have let mud contaminate our political life”, added the socialist prime minister, who in his institutional message did not refer to a possible motion of confidence in his progressive coalition government. After the opening of an investigation based on the complaint of alleged corruption and influence peddling, brought by the Manos Limpias union, against his wife, Sanchez announced in a 4-page letter to citizens posted on Wednesday on reflection, which kept the country in suspense. “It is urgent for me to answer the question of whether it is worth it, despite the quagmire in which the extreme and far right claim to transform politics. Whether I should continue at the helm of the government or renounce this great honour”, the prime minister had written in missive. “I don’t blush to say it, I am a man deeply in love with my wife, who lives helplessly with the mud they throw at her every day”, he added. Over the weekend he received demonstrations of support both from his party’s Federal Committee and from thousands of demonstrators mobilized in front of the PSOE headquarters and the Congress of Deputies. Sanchez thanked “for the demonstrations of solidarity”. And he assured that his decision to stay represents “a full stop”, to “demand unconditional resistance” against the mud machine driven by the right and “place the focus on the victims and not on the attackers”. “This campaign of discredit will not end,” the prime minister said. “But we can win it,” he concluded.
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