Sanchez to present anti-corruption plan amid deepening party scandal

MADRID – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to unveil a “powerful” anti-corruption package to overhaul his socialist PSOE party after a bombshell corruption scandal involving former cabinet members and top party officials rocked his administration.

Reeling from one of the party’s most severe crises to date, Sánchez, PSOE’s secretary general, will appear in an "extraordinary" parliamentary session on Wednesday.

The scandal, revealed in a recent Guardia Civil report, links members of Sánchez’s inner circle to alleged kickbacks, tender rigging, and influence peddling. With public trust hanging in the balance, expectations are high for the prime minister to deliver the “forceful response” he promised in June, shortly after the scandal broke.

A fresh start 

Following the report's release, Sánchez announced an “external audit” of the party's financing structure and pledged an "internal restructuring" of his party.

So far, changes include the appointment of Rebeca Torró as head of the party’s organisational secretariat, replacing both the indicted former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and PSOE’s number three, Santos Cerdán, a ally of Sánchez.

As criticism intensifies, left-wing party Sumar, PSOE's coalition partner, has joined right-wing Partido Popular (PP) in demanding accountability for the growing number of corruption cases linked to the Socialist-led government.

Sumar has reportedly asked PSOE for a “reset”, and pushed for the creation of an "anti-corruption office.” The party also urged Sánchez “to agree beforehand” on specific measures set to be announced on Wednesday.

According to government spokesperson Pilar Alegría, the measures to be announced on Wednesday "take into account" the concerns raised by coalition partners. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, she declined, however, to provide further details.

A strengthened opposition?

Despite ruling out implementing a cordon sanitaire to far-right VOX, PP president Alberto Nuñez Feijóo declined joining a coalition government with the far-right party in the future.

Meanwhile, the PP has sharpened its tone but stopped short of aligning fully with far-right party VOX. Although PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has ruled out forming a coalition with VOX, his party remains open to "future agreements" on "certain issues" with Spain’s third-largest political force, new PP secretary general Miguel Tellado told the press Tuesday.

At the regional level, PP continues to rely on VOX’s support to govern in Castilla y León, Extremadura, Murcia, Valencia, Aragón. In the Balearic Islands, where VOX is not part of the regional government, the two parties maintain cooperation agreements, including on the budget.

Feijóo has vowed to keep the far-right out of central government following the 2027 general election – but whether he can attract defectors from PSOE remains an open question.

No-confidence motion back on the table

Talk of a potential no-confidence vote has also resurfaced. While the PP lacks the 176 seats needed to pass a motion on its own, it is reportedly exploring alliances with regional nationalist parties.

With 137 PP MPs and 33 from VOX, Feijóo’s bloc is still short. Speculation now centers on whether Junts – the Catalan separatist party with seven MPs – might be persuaded to back the move.

Speaking to the Catalan press on Monday, senior PP official Xavier García Albiol said his party is willing to sit at the negotiating table with Carles Puigdemont's Junts but ruled out "direct talks" with the exiled Catalan leader. Junts has so far reportedly denied overtures from the PP, citing the party’s opposition to granting Catalan status as an official EU language. 

An alternative path could involve securing votes from Basque nationalist party PNV (five seats) and the Canarian Coalition (one seat). But the PNV has already rejected any no-confidence motion supported by VOX, their press office told Euractiv. 

As Sánchez loses allies and even his coalition partners distance themselves, support for VOX and PP continues to climb in recent polls. 

Whether the prime minister’s upcoming reforms can restore confidence in PSOE – and secure his own political survival through the 2027 elections – remains to be seen.

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