Spanish PM Sánchez apologizes for corruption scandals in his Socialist Party

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez apologized for the corruption scandals within his Socialist Party on Thursday, hours after a leading member of his political organization was implicated in a kickback scandal.

“I appear here to apologize to the citizens and supporters of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party,” Sánchez said in a televised press conference at the party’s headquarters in Madrid.

The extraordinary public apology came hours after the Spanish press reported that the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard national police force has evidence linking the Socialist Party’s third-highest ranking member, Santos Cerdán, with the reception of kickbacks.

The UCO investigation suggests Cerdan colluded with former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser, Koldo García, to collect illegal commissions linked to public works projects.

“This morning we have been able to know the content of the report … evidence has appeared, and it is clearly serious, very serious,” Sánchez said. “Unfortunately, corruption does exist in this world, but there must be zero tolerance when it occurs.”

In a press release announcing his resignation, Cerdán asserted that he had “never committed a crime nor been complicit in one,” and said he was stepping down to focus on his legal defense. Cerdán added he would submit to voluntary questioning by the Supreme Court judge investigating Ábalos and García.

News of Cerdán’s alleged collusion with Ábalos and García came just days after the former transport minister’s home in Valencia was raided by the UCO, a specialized division within the Civil Guard that handles the most serious offences and organized crime. The politician, who was expelled from the Socialist Party in 2024, maintains his innocence and this week told reporters that he was a victim of “hoaxes and lies.” García, for his part, has always insisted that there was never any wrongdoing.

Sánchez said he was “profoundly incensed and deeply saddened” by the revelations because he has “always believed in ‘clean’ politics and [in] democratic regeneration, as well as in the fight against corruption.”

The prime minister said he would completely restructure the top echelon of his party and order an independent audit of its finances.

What’s next for Sánchez?

The latest developments in Spain leave Sánchez, who leads a minority coalition government, in a perilous position.

For the past year the prime minister’s party has been rocked by successive scandals involving top figures. The main opposition party, the center-right Peoples’ Party (PP), has used the affairs to accuse Sánchez of being a “capo” leading a “mafia” administration, and to rally party members and supporters across the country.

Last Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Madrid to attend a PP-led demonstration urging Sánchez to step down, and this week center-right senators hijacked a session of the upper house of the Spanish parliament to repeatedly demand the prime minister’s resignation.

Sánchez on Thursday said he would neither resign nor call early elections because he felt an obligation to defend “a political project in which millions believe and depend,” and which he did not want to see scuttled “by the conduct of a few individuals.”

The prime minister is unlikely to be forced to step down because that would require the passage of a censure motion against him in the Spanish parliament. For censure motions in Spain to succeed, an alternative candidate to lead the country must receive the support of a majority of lawmakers.

At the moment, the only potential replacement candidate is center-right leader Alberto Núñez-Feijóo, but to win the vote he would need the support of the far-right Vox party. That backing would in turn alienate separatist and regionalist parties in the parliament, whose support would be needed to unseat Sánchez in a censure motion.

But while Sánchez may be secure in his post, whether he will be able to govern remains unclear. The remaining two years of the current legislative term are likely to be overshadowed by news reports of major Socialist Party figures facing criminal prosecution.

It’s also unclear if the parties that the minority government relies on to pass legislation will be willing to collaborate with a prime minister whom a growing number of Spaniards associate with scandal. It will be up to Sánchez to assure them that backing his government remains in their interest.

The prime minister’s public apology appears aimed at breaking the silence surrounding the scandals and distancing the Socialist Party from those involved in alleged corruption. Sánchez underscored that point on Thursday, saying he was determined to hold those responsible accountable.

“Once again: I apologize,” he said. “And I promise that although my feeling of disappointment is huge, my response to these developments will be decisive.”

This story has been updated.