In less than a month, the session period in the Congress of Deputies ends. The last week of ordinary activity in the lower house will be that of June 24, when Pedro Sánchez's appearance is scheduled due to the latest judicial scandals in his circle. The Spanish Prime Minister will have to give explanations regarding the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the revelations from the investigation into the Leire Díez case. This judicial minefield of the PSOE has relegated legislative matters to the background. With a weaker parliamentary majority than ever, Sánchez faces the final stretch of the legislature with serious doubts about whether he will manage to approve the laws that are pending in Congress, as well as the outstanding agreements with his investiture allies.

The first barometer of the Sociological Research Centre (CIS) conducted after the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the outbreak of the Leire Díez case —of alleged PSOE sewers— worsens Pedro Sánchez's electoral prospects for the upcoming Spanish elections. According to the survey published this Thursday, the socialists fall 4.9 points, to 31.3% of estimated votes. On the other hand, the PP improves it with an increase of 2.2 points, to 27.1%. In this way, Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party cuts the distance separating them from the PSOE by 7.1 points. If in the previous barometer it was 11.3 points, in the current one they are only 4.2 points apart. In fact, the popular party is the one that best capitalizes on the PSOE's decline, as Vox, on the contrary, falls four tenths —from 16.2 to 15.8%— and S'ha Acabat la Festa (SALF) of MEP Alvise Pérez, which is the sixth force, falls half a point, to 1.9%.

A group of trans women momentarily leads a protest on Barcelona's Rambla. Fists raised, shouts immortalized in the expression of their faces, and a banner with the slogan We are not afraid, we are just behind him. It is one of the images that captured the photographer Isabel Steva Hernández, known as Colita (1940-2023)"At first I wasn't aware of the danger, but I was aware that we were attracting attention," explains Sofia, who was walking in the group of "the transvestites, as we were called then," and ended up being hit, in addition to the insults and mockery of some pedestrians. The Government delegate in Madrid, Núria Marín, recalled that "the law on dangerousness and social rehabilitation" was still in force and highlighted that Colita put "her camera at the service of the cultural, social, and political transformation of our country." The exhibition's curator, Rafael Doctor, insisted that it is "100% relevant" for the exhibition to take place now, in the midst of a surge of the far-right that endangers conquered rights and "freedom with a capital F." After its run in Madrid, the exhibition will move to the old Model prison in the Catalan capital, which is precisely where some of the people who participated in the protest photographed by Colita ended up, and which is relived almost fifty years later.

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has not seen the 3Cat documentary that exposes the abuses suffered by thousands of young people doing military service in Spain. She herself explained this Tuesday afternoon in the Senate when she tried to shrug off the pressure from Junts to clarify the vexations, torture, and rapes during mandatory military service in the Spanish army and, specifically, the 1,900 deaths that the journalistic investigation of the program Sense ficció estimates occurred for this reason. Both the first part of the documentary, broadcast at the end of 2024 under the title Et faran un home, and the second, Et faran un home: Morts silenciades,which expands it with more testimonies, published in mid-2026, have led the pro-independence and sovereignist parties to demand the creation of an investigation committee in Congress.

The arrival of Francis at the Holy See marked a paradigm shift in relations with Spanish political parties. While the Catholic Church in Spain still bears the imprint of the repressive role it played during Francoism, the previous pope's demeanor allowed fresh air into the institution, which in the last decade has shown greater alignment with left-wing parties. The Argentine pope's commitment to a Church more focused on vulnerable groups to the detriment of doctrinal matters – precisely those that separate them from progressive sectors – which his successor, Leo XIV, continues, has led Pedro Sánchez's government to establish the Vatican as an international ally against the rise of the global far-right.

The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard concludes that Santos Cerdán, Leire Díez, and other individuals formed a group to promote a “set of indicatively criminal actions” with the aim of “protecting the interests at stake in a series of judicial cases” affecting the PSOE and, “directly or indirectly,” Pedro Sánchez or “certain members” of the Spanish government. This is one of the elements contained in one of the reports to which ARA had access and which forms part of the summary of the case being investigated by the judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz.

The Secretary General of Junts, Jordi Turull, has challenged Alberto Núñez Feijóo to meet with Carles Puigdemont in Waterloo if he wants to convince the party to join an instrumental motion of no confidence to bring down Pedro Sánchez and call elections. "If he has a serious offer, serious things are explained in meetings, and he [Feijóo] knows that meetings with Junts, with the highest leadership [...], must be held in Waterloo," he told El matí de Catalunya Ràdio. The proposal caught Feijóo at the Cercle d'Economia, but he did not want to explicitly respond to Turull's request. The popular leader once again defended the motion of no confidence, but warned: "I am not coming to ask for favors nor to give them away."

The motion of no confidence weighs heavily on the political debate since the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, almost two weeks ago. Although the PP resists presenting it, Alberto Núñez Feijóo has taken a further step in the strategy of pressuring Pedro Sánchez's investiture allies and this Monday he offered himself, especially to Junts and the PNB, to put an end to the legislature. In an interview on Telecinco, and after the Spanish president vowed this weekend to resist in Moncloa, the PP leader has called for efforts to be united for an instrumental motion of no confidence. The objective would be to bring down the PSOE government, besieged by cases of alleged corruption, and call for immediate elections. "Decency and elections," he summarized.

If the previous Spanish legislature (2019-2023) was marked by judicial cases against the independence movement, the current one has become a real judicial minefield for the PSOE. The common thread between the two was, moreover, the amnesty, which Pedro Sánchez pledged to approve to secure the votes of ERC and Junts for his investiture. Although its implementation, two years after it was approved, has not yet been completed – with more than a hundred politicians, activists, and public officials with pending proceedings – one of the tangible effects of the measure has been the anger of the political and judicial right over the socialists' concession. In fact, the legislature began with constant protests in front of the PSOE headquarters encouraged by the far-right and also by PP officials.

After a week stunned by the Zapatero case and the investigation pointing to a plot within the PSOE, the socialists are counterattacking. The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has requested to appear before Congress to inform about "the political situation related to the latest known judicial investigations." That is to say, to talk about the scandals surrounding his party. This is reported by sources from the Spanish government, who assure that they have "nothing to hide" and no problem discussing, if the PP wishes, the cases affecting the PSOE and also those of the PP, such as Kitchen, which is on trial. The PSOE has vowed to resist at Moncloa. The appearance has no date yet, but it will be after June 19, when the next European Council will take place, which Sánchez also wants to account for.

The judicial maelstrom affecting the PSOE translates into noise in Congress, but not into tectonic shifts. The motion of no confidence, which is the parliamentary tool that could provoke them, hovers over the lower house with no prospect that the PP, the only opposition party with enough deputies to register it, will force one. This immobility is explained by the fact that Junts and the PNB, Pedro Sánchez's investiture allies with the most options to distance themselves, are resisting aligning themselves with Alberto Núñez Feijóo – and by extension with Vox – however much they have raised their tone against the socialists in recent days.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will testify as an investigated party before the National Court two weeks later than planned. Judge José Luis Calama has accepted the former Spanish president's defense's request for an adjournment and summons him for June 17 and 18. Initially, he was scheduled for next week, Tuesday the 2nd. In an order, Calama deems it appropriate to postpone the declaration due to the complexity of the case, as requested by the former socialist leader's lawyer, Víctor Moreno Catena, since he did not have access to it until this Monday. In parallel, the former PSOE leader has already begun to publicly defend himself against the accusations.

The company of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's two daughters, What The Fav, had a role of "operational coordination" with the alleged influence peddling scheme of the former Spanish president. This is the conclusion reached by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police in the summary: "It is observed that the commercial relationship, combined with the personal ties existing between the participants, is not limited to sporadic contacts". The police force requested the National Court judge José Luis Calama, among other things, to access the content of emails with the domain name @whathefav.com.

Plus Ultra is the company at the epicenter of the investigation against José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for the public bailout of 53 million euros that he allegedly received thanks to the influence of the former Spanish president. However, the airline is not the only client of Julio Martínez Martínez's corporate network, supposedly directed by the former socialist leader from the shadows. Both the UDEF in its police reports and the National High Court judge José Luis Calama in his indictment order speak of a consolidated organization that sought to profit thanks to Zapatero's "direct intervention" in "high-value international operations." The commission allegedly received from the Venezuelan directors of Plus Ultra would be just one of the plot's income streams.

The PP has been living in a Groundhog Day for a long time. Every time a judicial scandal from the political circle closest to Pedro Sánchez breaks out, the idea of forcing a motion of no confidence arises. This is what has happened these days with the indictment of former socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for influence peddling at the National Court. Just as happened with the investigations against José Luis Ábalos, first, and Santos Cerdán, months later, in cases of alleged corruption. Should Alberto Núñez Feijóo push for a motion of no confidence to try to shorten the legislature? The conclusion reached by Génova for now is the same as in previous cases. The PP will not take any step without having guaranteed support.

The Unitat de Delinqüència Econòmica i Fiscal (UDEF) [Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit] of the National Police concludes – at the end of one of the two leaked reports from the investigation into the public bailout of Plus Ultra and the alleged collection of commissions by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for having interceded – that there are "sufficient indications" against the former Spanish prime minister. It is 185 pages in which the UDEF analyzes the communications intercepted on computer terminals of businessmen linked to both the airline and the former socialist leader, as well as the movements of Zapatero's bank accounts — whom they consider the leader of the organized network— and his circle. But what exactly does the UDEF have against the former Spanish prime minister to make this statement, which has led to his indictment in the National High Court case?

José Luis Ábalos, in preventive detention for the mask case, raises his voice after the imputation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. In an interview with TVE from Soto del Real prison, the former Minister of Transport has distanced himself from the Plus Ultra bailout and stated that it was the former Spanish president who, as the National High Court points out, allegedly pressured for the airline to receive the 53 million euros from the Spanish government in 2021, during the covid-19 pandemic. The former PSOE organization secretary, in fact, assures that he learned of the bailout when he arrived at the council of ministers. "Zapatero bypassed me and spoke directly with Pedro Saura [Secretary of State for Transport]," he states.

After the indictment on Tuesday of former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a new move from the National Court. Judge José Luis Calama has ordered to block 490,780 euros from the accounts of the former socialist leader, the amount he received from the company at the epicenter of the investigation, Análisis Relevante, owned by his friend Julio Martínez Martínez. The magistrate, according to tribunal sources, has also ordered the blocking of all accounts of the other companies investigated in the case.

After four years frozen, the Catalan PP will have its congress. Finally, the state leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, announced this Monday in a closed-door intervention that the party will hold its regional congress on June 27. The forecast is to ratify the leadership of Alejandro Fernández, who, after strong tug-of-war with the Galician leader, has established a peaceful relationship with the state leadership, especially thanks to the role of the general secretary, Miguel Tellado.

It is not easy to find a photo of him, nor on Google, but his discretion contrasts with the magnitude of the major cases he usually handles. José Luis Calama Teixeira, the judge who has indicted former president Zapatero for the Plus Ultra case, has been part of the Spanish judicial career for three decades and since 2018 has served as a magistrate of the National High Court, where he has stood out for the investigation of espionage against various members of the Spanish government with Pegasus.