THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

Spain's Sanchez running out of road as corruption probes stack up Eight years after ousting a corruption-mired, centre-right government on the promise of cleaning up politics, ​Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is running out of road as graft accusations stack up against his party and family. Lauded abroad by liberals for standing up to US President Donald Trump and calling out atrocities in Gaza, at home Sanchez trails in the polls and is coming under fire even from allies for the string of corruption cases making their way through Spain's courts. For more, FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney is joined by Carlos Mascarell Vilar, political scientist, advocacy expert, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Barcelona.

Spain's Sánchez digs in after eight years as PM as wave of scandals threatens survival Corruption probes of colleagues and relatives have put Spain's premier into a fight for survival.

Sánchez defends record amid fires and corruption scandals - Euractiv (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MADRID – Facing the most difficult stretch of his political term, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez appeared on national TV to defend his government’s performance on all fronts. The Socialist leader, more accustomed to speaking to international outlets, gave his last interview with Spanish media over a year ago, on the radio network Cadena Ser . As corruption cases linked to his inner circle multiply, his public appearances have become increasingly rare, according to conservative media. Sánchez opened the political calendar on Monday by urging Spain’s political class  “to act” and back a state pact against climate change. His call followed the worst wildfire season in Spain’s recent history, with over 400,000 hectares reportedly ravaged by wildfires in recent weeks. At the outset of the interview, Sánchez defended his handling of the crisis, insisting that Spain was very “well-prepared” to respond.  “We have seen this with the deployment of thousands of personnel, who are ready to act,” he said. The opposition’s criticism, he argued, reflects nothing more t…

Scandal after scandal lands Spain's Sánchez on the ropes MADRID — Pummelled by corruption crises and stinging defeats in regional elections , Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is running out of road. Investigators raided the headquarters of his Socialist party on Wednesday in a probe into the misuse of party funds. That would have been bad enough in itself, but it’s only the latest episode in a blizzard of corruption scandals weighing on the party. Conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the government is now in its “death throes” and demanded that Sánchez resign and call elections. “How many more raids? How many more kickbacks?” he asked. Advertisement For now, Sánchez’s fragile coalition is holding firm but it is becoming increasingly awkward for his allies to stick with him as the scale of the alleged Socialist party corruption comes into focus. Officially, Spain does not have to hold elections until next August but the prime minister may be forced for move earlier. Much attention will center on a particularly high-profile case involving former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero . He is due to appear in court on June 17 and the revelations are provi…

Spain's Sánchez digs in after eight years as PM as wave of scandals threatens survival Corruption probes of colleagues and relatives have put Spain's premier into a fight for survival.