For Pedro Sánchez, the end is near

Pale, with a contrite and crestfallen expression, Pedro Sánchez asked forgiveness from the Spanish people and socialist activists on June 12 during a press conference that was reminiscent of the speech of the king in exile . He apologized for the accusation that the number three in the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Santos Cerdán, allegedly received bribes in exchange for the awarding of public contracts, revealed the day before by a report from the Civil Guard's Anti-Corruption Unit (UCO), which investigated the Koldo affair , named after the right-hand man of former Socialist minister José Luis Ábalos.

The Prime Minister and leader of the PSOE also announced that he had requested the resignation of the party's organization secretary [Cerdán], with whom he had worked closely since 2014. He also promised to launch an external audit of the party's accounts and to restructure the PSOE leadership. However, he ruled out calling early parliamentary elections before 2027.

The first impression of this press conference is that Sánchez, a master of defending himself tooth and nail, was trying to gain time to consider the right moment to announce early elections. He intends to launch himself, once again, into what appears to be a losing battle, by cultivating the image of an honest and effective head of government.