Pedro Sánchez has been prime minster of Spain since 2018 and for much of that time has enjoyed very strong poll ratings. But lately it has all gone pear shaped due to a series of corruption scandals which allegedly involve his wife, his brother and a former prime minister. Some of his key aids have been jailed and pressure is mounting inside and out of his party to call early elections or even “do a Keir Starmer” as one opposition spokesperson suggested in parliament last week.
Sánchez is more isolated than ever but he refuses to back down. But there is the danger that Feijóo, the leader of the opposition Partido Popular, could manage to bring the Catalan party Junts and far-right Vox together to demand that Sánchez face a vote of no confidence or resign. Getting Junts on side is a tough challenge. While the party is on the right, they want independence for Cataluña and they know that Vox and the PP will never go for that.
Nevertheless, if Sánchez proves unable to stop the rot in his socialist party and his government, he may find the pressure too much. Starmer did his best to hang on in there but in the end he was left with no choice. And Sánchez, if he’s not careful, could find himself in the same position. Questions are already being asked about who would be the best person to replace him.