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The first parliamentary session in Spain since a top aide of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was implicated in a corruption scandal took place on Wednesday. The session quickly turned chaotic with various lawmakers calling on Sánchez to resign as political pressure mounts against him.
People’s Party (PP) lawmakers banged their seats and shouted “Resignation, resignation!” The scene orchestrated by Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, who left the chamber without listening to Sánchez, and staring at him with contempt as he passed by.
“You are indecent. And not even your supporters have any doubt about that. All of Spain knows it. You are corrupt and a traitor,” said Abascal before leaving the chamber.
The Spanish premier chose to deploy an offensive tactic as he referenced corruption cases linked with other parties. Sánchez spoke of the Gürtel case, which implicated hundreds of PP officers, some who subsequently resigned, with corruption, including bribery, money laundering and tax evasion.
The PP parliamentary caucus erupted and the situation quickly turned chaotic, with Parliament Speaker Francina Armengol struggling to control the session.
“You are a president deeply trapped in a corruption scheme. No matter how much you disguise it, you are not the victim. The victims are the Spanish people,” said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, President of the PP.
“You came to say you won’t call elections because you would lose them. You don’t have to save the Spanish people from themselves; the Spanish people have to save themselves from you, and they await your resignation letter,” he added.
Sánchez then said that the only thing he’s going to address are the PP corruption cases, which are set to be tried in the coming months.
Sánchez has completely changed his tone, moving from last week’s apology to a coordinated offensive against the opposition PP and Vox. The Spanish leader believes they lack the legitimacy to speak about corruption given their serious graft cases.
The difference, as Sánchez notes, is that the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) acts as soon as there are signs, while the PP and Vox cover up corruption.
Sánchez attempted to steer the session away from the PSOE’s corruption case, but to no avail.
The last few days have been very tense since audio recordings were released by Spanish police last week.
The tapes confirmed that the third highest ranking PSOE official who’s since resigned, Santos Cerdán, was involved in an illegal scheme which saw him take kickbacks in return for awarding public work contracts. Cerdan has denied any wrongdoing.
Additional sources • AP