Investigations into alleged money laundering and kickbacks have implicated high-ranking officials within Spain's Socialist Party, revealing how public funds and state influence are leveraged for private gain. Former Socialist prime minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been named in an investigation accusing him of using his influence to secure a €53m government bailout of Plus Ultra airline in 2021, allegedly receiving a commission in return. Zapatero is due to be questioned in court on 17 June.
The allegations extend to the highest echelons of the ruling party. José Luis Ábalos, a former transport minister and deputy party leader, was implicated in 2023 in an investigation into a network that allegedly received kickbacks from the sale of €50m worth of facemasks during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ábalos, who denies involvement, was expelled from the party and recently went on trial, awaiting a verdict. Last year, he was also implicated in a broader kickbacks-for-contracts case, alongside Socialist Party number three Santos Cerdán. Sánchez stated of Cerdán: "The Socialist Party and I should not have trusted him." Both Cerdán and Ábalos deny wrongdoing.
The Price of Power
The concentration of wealth through the state-corporate nexus is further evidenced by the allegations against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's own family. His musician brother, David Sánchez, went on trial on Thursday accused of influence peddling, specifically that he was appointed to a musical post in Badajoz without a selection process and did not carry out his duties. A judge has also been investigating the business affairs of Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, since 2024, proposing she go on trial for misuse of funds and influence peddling. She has been summoned for a preliminary hearing on 9 June.
These investigations, which a centre-left newspaper El País noted are "linked to the nucleus of power which has governed for the past eight years," highlight the systemic nature of corruption within the political establishment. Paco Camas, head of public opinion for Ipsos, described the investigation into Zapatero as "extremely serious" because he has been a "moral reference for the party." Zapatero's 2004-2011 administration introduced reforms such as same-sex marriage and gender violence legislation, which are now overshadowed by allegations of personal enrichment through state resources.
The State's Apparatus
The state apparatus has been deployed not only in the alleged extraction of surplus but also in efforts to suppress scrutiny. Police raided the Socialist headquarters in Madrid this week as part of a probe into allegations that the party paid member Leire Díez to carry out a campaign to discredit police, judges, and prosecutors investigating existing cases, including the one affecting Santos Cerdán. Díez has denied performing this role. Sánchez himself has criticized the cases against his brother and wife, pointing to their origin in accusations made by far-right organizations. His transport minister, Óscar Puente, claimed "there is a government that some want to bring down, not through the ballot box, but with other dark arts, with undemocratic methods."
Despite the mounting evidence of corruption, Prime Minister Sánchez has insisted he will see out the parliament's full legislative term, which marks exactly eight years since he became prime minister on 1 June. His minority coalition government has struggled to manage its parliamentary partners, an array of regional nationalist and left-wing parties, and has not approved a single new budget this legislature. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) hinted at waning patience, suggesting that waiting until 2027 for the next election would be an "irresponsibility."
Managing the Contradictions
The conservative People's Party (PP) leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, described the scandals as "a criminal carousel" and called for Sánchez to resign and bring forward next year's general election. However, there does not seem to be enough support for the opposition to win a no-confidence vote, the mechanism through which Sánchez himself came to power in 2018. Political scientist Lluís Orriols noted that an "internal rebellion of mayors and regional leaders" concerned about "contagion effect" could impact the May 2027 local elections, but added, "right now we're not seeing that kind of revolt."
Paco Camas observed that he does not "see an incentive for the government to call elections, however blocked the situation may be and however much it is affected by scandal," concluding that the government "can dig in." The summer break is seen as a potential respite, allowing the government to recover political initiative in September. Sánchez's political survival is tied to the development of these investigations, with further "explosive cases" or evidence of illegal financing potentially triggering an exodus of parliamentary partners and making the pressure unbearable. Orriols concluded, "This is a government which has been in a very delicate situation for some time now. Don't rule out the possibility of it running out of air soon." The ongoing scandals reveal the deep-seated mechanisms of power and wealth concentration that persist regardless of the party in nominal control.