Spanish Pedro Sanchez I’m sorry after Top Assistant on submit in a corruption scandal

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez apologized to the Spanish people after a major corruption scandal removed a senior colleague from the Socialist Party.

Sanchez, who has led Spain since 2018, said there was no such thing as “zero corruption”, adding that he was wrong to trust in Santos Cherdan, secretary of his party and close political counterpart.

Cerdán has been asked to testify to court after a judge suggested that he may have acted with former party officials in case of incorrect award of public contracts in exchange for refusals.

He said on Thursday that he withdrew to defend himself in the Supreme Court on June 25, maintaining that “he had never committed a crime, nor was I complicit.”

Against the backdrop of growing speculation over his own future, the Prime Minister called a press conference in an attempt to distance himself from the creeping scandal. He said he knew absolutely nothing about the corruption affair, and instead promised to restructure the leadership of his socialist party Psoe.

He rejected the calls for the early elections, insisting that the next national vote would be held until 2027 and his government would continue its “political project”.

“It’s not about me and it’s not about the Socialist Party,” he said.

Despite his seven years in power, Sanchez heads a trembling coalition secured after the conservative popular party won the 2023 election but failed to form a government.

While the opposition required answers on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz of the left coalition partner Sumar said he wanted explanations.

It was Sanchez’s first appearance to answer media issues after a national power outage, which struck Spain in April.

Speaking from the headquarters of the Socialist Party (Psoe) in Madrid, the Prime Minister said he was convinced of the integrity of Santos Cherdan by Thursday morning and wanted to apologize to Spanish citizens.

“There is no such thing as zero corruption,” he said. “We didn’t have to trust him.”

Sanchez said that like many others, he had his mistakes and asked Spanish people for forgiveness.

He continued to accuse Conservatives of besieging his government on numerous issues.

Sanchez has encountered multiple political crises and in April 2024 threatened to stand up.

It took five days to decide on his future in April 2024, when the court decided to open preliminary proceedings against his wife because of the allegations related to her business transactions.

Then he also called a television press conference and, at a time of high drama, announced that he had decided to stay at work.