Cries of “Pedro Sanchez resigns!” »» And brandishing Spanish flags, tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday 8 June in Madrid at the call of the main conservative opposition party of Spain, against the government of the Socialist Prime Minister, accused of corruption.
More than 100,000 people according to the People's Party (PP), and between 45,000 and 50,000 according to the representative of the central government, participated in Place d'Espagne, in the center of the capital, in this rally whose watchword was “Mafia or democracy”.
The PP called for the rally after the recent flight in the press of transcriptions of conversations between a former activist of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Leire Diez, and in particular a commander of the Civil Guard and an entrepreneur, both implicated in cases targeting relatives of Mr. Sanchez.
With these interlocutors, to whom she promises the leniency of justice or a rapid rehabilitation, Lire Diez gives the impression of looking for compromising elements on members of a civil guard unit (the equivalent of the gendarmerie) carrying out embarrassing investigations for the Prime Minister.
Ms. Diez rejected the accusations, assuring that she was carrying out research for a book and did not work on behalf of the PSOE, which she resigned, or Pedro Sánchez. “This government has all sali – politics, state institutions, separation of powers”launched to the demonstrators the leader of the PP, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who accused the government of “Mafia practices” in this case. He urged Pedro Sanchez to “To submit to democracy” And to summon early elections. The next general elections are planned in 2027.
A gathering under political tension
Government spokesperson Pilar Alegria, minimized the scope of the rally, writing on X that the Spanish rock duo Estopa had attracted more people during his recent concert at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid that “The apocalyptic feijoo of the Spanish square”.
Several relatives of the head of government, at the forefront of which his wife and brother, but also his ex-right and ex-minister of transport, José Luis Abalos, are questioned in judicial investigations relating to cases of corruption.
Mr. Sanchez, who has always defended the probity of his wife and his ministers, accuses the right and the extreme right of being at the origin of what he describes as “Defamation campaigns” intended, according to him, to destabilize his government.
He came to power in June 2018 after having ousted his predecessor of the PP, Mariano Rajoy, during a vote of distrust linked to a corruption scandal involving the Conservative Party.
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This rally is the sixth organized at the call of the PP against the government since Mr. Feijoo led the party in April 2022 and it took place shortly before an extraordinary Congress of the political party scheduled for July.
Initially expected in 2026, the event was advanced by Mr. Feijoo who argued in the need for the party to be ” prepared “ In the event of anticipated national elections, a decision analyzed as a desire for consolidating its power. Mr. Rajoy and another ex-Prime Minister of the PP, José Maria Aznar, were present at Place d'Espagne, as well as several heads of regional governments.
Source: Lemonde