Sánchez dismisses his right-hand man for corruption and attempts to protect himself in the Moncloa

Madrid / Barcelona"I apologize to the public and all PSOE members. I was convinced of Santos Cerdán's integrity. There was no evidence of his involvement in the so-called Koldo case. But this morning, very serious signs have emerged, so this afternoon I have asked for his resignation with immediate effect. Again, I ask." This is how Pedro Sánchez began his appearance at Ferraz this Thursday following the dismissal of the PSOE's number three, Santos Cerdán, following a devastating Civil Guard report alleging corruption. "We shouldn't have trusted him," admitted the Spanish president and leader of the PSOE. Visibly shaken and with a grave tone, he announced that he will launch an external audit of the party's accounts and that he will restructure the executive branch on July 5. However, he ruled out changes to the Cabinet and the early elections demanded by the PP.

Santos Cerdán's resignation from all his posts has left Pedro Sánchez deeply shaken, forced to appear at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street after many days without providing any explanations regarding either the Leire Díez case or the suspicions surrounding his close collaborator. The last time Sánchez held a press conference at the Socialist Party headquarters was before taking office, in June 2018. The Supreme Court has accused the former number 3 of the PSOE of "collusion" with former minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García in the collection of illegal derivative commissions—Acciona, one of those accused, will open an internal investigation—of ministers and senior PSOE officials, who swore by him. "I have many flaws, and one of them is believing in the cleanliness of politics," Sánchez lamented. Cerdán will appear in court on June 25th to defend his "innocence," as stated in his resignation letter, but Sánchez has made it clear that "the evidence provided by the Civil Guard is a huge disappointment."

"As I have pointed out in recent days, I have never committed any illegality nor have I been a direct accomplice," Cerdán insisted in his letter. The president of Navarra, María Chivite, also appeared and, with tears in her eyes, acknowledged that "it is not an easy day." "I have read [the report] and I do not recognize the person with whom I have shared a political career and my friend," she lamented. Pending the judicial process, the evidence against Sánchez's last two organizational secretaries in the PSOE has left it easy for Alberto Núñez Feijóo to direct suspicions against the Spanish president. "It is impossible that the secretary general of the PSOE did not know what his previous deputy and his current deputy were doing," he criticized in an appearance at the PSOE headquarters in Génova. However, Sánchez has defended his "forceful" reaction and differentiated it from other organizations—referring to the PP—that do not assume responsibility in serious cases of corruption.

Irregular financing of the PSOE?

Sánchez was very clear in outlining the alleged irregularities involving Cerdán—and Ábalos and Koldo—and denied structural corruption within the party or the Spanish government. The UCO (Union of the Workers' Union) insinuates behavior by the former number 3 that would point to irregular financing of the PSOE, leading Sánchez to announce an external audit of the party's accounts to "eliminate any shadow of doubt," although he emphasized that the Court of Auditors' reports on the accounting have always been "positive." In this regard, he also distanced the Spanish government from the matter. "There will be no election until 2027 because this is not about me or the PSOE, it's about a political project that is doing good things for economic and social transformation and the defense of a model of country that is necessary today more than ever."

The Cerdán scandal, however, is a turning point, and the support of the legislative partners is now more complicated. "One is needed." reset of relations with the PSOE and the legislature needs a 180-degree turn," asked the leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, who has ruled out leaving the government and has endorsed that the legislature continue until 2027. Esquerra has made it clear that it will not facilitate a government of PP and Vox because "they embody a corruption si underlined that there is no alternative majority to Sánchez. This is not the case of Cerdán, it is the case of the PSOE, and it does irreparable damage to our democracy," considered the spokesperson for Podemos, Ione Belarra, through the social network X.

Junts also swore by Cerdán until the very end, portraying him as a victim of "media and police condemnation." However, Sánchez's resignation and appearance have changed the situation, and Carles Puigdemont's party has acknowledged the "seriousness" of the allegations. Following an emergency meeting of the permanent committee, Junts requested a meeting between the general secretary, Jordi Turull, and the spokesperson in Madrid, Míriam Nogueras, with Sánchez to analyze the "feasibility" of completing the term.

Feijóo rules out a motion of censure.

It remains to be seen how the Spanish prime minister holds out until 2027, with less room to pass a budget but with the ace up his sleeve: it's unlikely anyone would vote for a vote of no confidence from the PP and Vox. Sánchez's challenge will be to manage the wear and tear and a situation of weakness so that it takes the smallest possible toll at the polls. Thus, the PP leader ruled out presenting a vote of no confidence for the time being and noted that he will try to oust the Spanish prime minister "when there's any chance." However, he has pressured the PSOE's investiture partners: "Let them reflect. They have the opportunity to save some kind of honor." Will this episode be a boost for Sumar, which continues to plummet in the polls, as demonstrated by this Thursday's CIS poll? "The old politics of the two-party system is over. It's incomprehensible that there are people robbing institutions in the 21st century," denounced Yolanda Díaz, the second vice president of the Spanish government.