Spain PM steps back over investigation

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he is considering his future after a court announced it had opened an investigation into corruption allegations made against his wife.

Sanchez, who has led the country since 2018 and was reelected in November, has insisted his wife Begona Gomez is innocent. But he said he will step back from official duties for a few days in the wake of the news, and may even resign over it.

"I am not naive. I realize they are denouncing Begona, not because she has done anything illegal — they know there is no case — but because she is my wife," Sanchez said on X, claiming the allegations were politically motivated.

"I need to stop and reflect. I must answer the question if it is worth it to continue, given the mud pit the right and far right have made out of our politics, if I must continue at the helm of the government or renounce that highest of honors."

Sanchez said he plans to make a decision in the coming days and announce his next steps on Monday.

Sanchez accused Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the right-wing People's Party, of working with the far-right Vox party to destabilize his coalition government and try to bring him down.

The court investigating the claims against Gomez said on Wednesday it began its probe on April 16, in response to allegations made by the anti-corruption group Manos Limpias, which translates to clean hands. The organization is led by Miguel Bernad, who several Spanish media outlets have claimed has links to the far right.

Manos Limpias describes itself as a trade union and has previously made corruption allegations against politicians, bankers and even members of Spain's royal family.

The organization said in a statement on Thursday that its allegations against Gomez were based on news stories, not its own investigation.

"If they are not true, it will be up to those that published them to take responsibility for the falsehood," the organization said, in a move that seemed to aim at distancing it from the claims.

While the court has said nothing about the allegations against Gomez, news websites, including El Confidencial and Voz Populi, have said they are connected to her alleged links to private companies that have won government contracts, or secured taxpayer funding.

Sanchez left Parliament visibly upset on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported, after lawmakers questioned him about the probe. He is understood to have traveled to his Madrid residence, after clearing his diary of all official business for the rest of the week.