Bridge, on the condemnation of Sánchez's brother: "The only purpose is to overthrow the government"

MadridFirst reaction from the Spanish government to the conviction of Pedro Sánchez's brother to 9 years of disqualification. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who is one of the government members who has shown himself to be most belligerent against justice, has assured that the sentence is an attempt to oust the PSOE from the Spanish government. "This era will be studied in history books as the one in which the seams of our institutions were strained with the sole purpose of overthrowing a government due to the inability to do so through the ballot box," he sentenced.

The spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, said that she does not share the judicial resolution and has gone to the "origin" of the case: "It started with an ultra association, there is no private prosecution, and the Prosecutor's Office requested acquittal [...]. We hope that in higher instances the innocence of David Sánchez will be confirmed," she added, as David Sánchez's defense can now file an appeal with the Badajoz Court of Justice. Furthermore, Saiz also commented on the case of Begoña Gómez after Judge Juan Carlos Peinado asked her for proof that she did not violate precautionary measures when she went to London for her daughter's graduation: "It is political harassment".

On the other hand, the PP has criticized that it is a new "historic day" because "for the first time in democracy a Spanish prime minister has his brother convicted". "This in any country would bring down any government," reiterated the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, in statements in the corridors of the lower house. Muñoz recalled that former State Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz and Sánchez's former right-hand man, José Luis Ábalos, have also been convicted. "And nothing happens here," lamented the popular spokesperson, who argued that the Spanish prime minister "should have resigned a long time ago." The leader of the popular party, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, commented on X. "That no one is above the law, whatever the family, speaks well of our rule of law," he stated.

"Now the PSOE knows what it's like"

From Catalonia, the spokesperson for the Government, Sílvia Paneque, has spoken. "Respect for court rulings and respect for the presumption of innocence. There is the possibility of appeal," she said. More forceful was the leader of Esquerra, Gabriel Rufián, who reacted via X. "The only good thing about this David Sánchez and Begoña Gómez situation is that now the PSOE knows what it feels like when a judge pursues you for your ideas, for being who you are, or simply for your face," he said, "reforming the judiciary should be a priority," he sentenced.