Sánchez's Political Rift
Electoral and Judicial Landscape Widens Sánchez's Rift with Parliamentary Partners
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez dropped his usual caution with coalition partners on June 24, 2026, and went on the offensive during a special congressional plenary on corruption. The shift exposed what his allies already knew: he no longer has a stable majority in the lower house. La Vanguardia reported Sánchez told lawmakers, "We are fed up. Lessons from no one anymore... The question is not whether we should continue; the question is how could we not continue?"
The aggressive tone came on the same day his wife, Begoña Gómez, surrendered her passport at a Madrid court after a judge barred her from leaving Spain. She now faces trial on four criminal charges, including business corruption and misappropriation, according to El Periodista.
A Week of Judicial Blows Hits the Government
The crisis built quickly. On June 20, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado formally sent Begoña Gómez to trial on four counts. Two days later, former PSOE cabinet minister José Luis Ábalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the so-called "Mascarillas" corruption case, according to BioBioChile. Then came the passport seizure on June 24, creating an unprecedented image: the president's wife surrendering travel documents to a court.
On top of that, former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is now under investigation for money laundering after 1.3 million euros in jewels were found in a safe in his office, BioBioChile reported. The cascade of judicial developments gave Sánchez's opponents a powerful narrative heading into the plenary session.
Sánchez Turns Attack on His Own Parliamentary Partners
Rather than seeking calm, Sánchez attacked. He targeted not just the PP opposition but also his own investiture partners, including Junts and Podemos. Analysts at El Independiente say this signals he has entered "election mode," essentially treating the legislature as a stage rather than a negotiating floor. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo fired back, calling Sánchez the "corrupting nexus" of the government and demanding a motion of censure "by decency... today," according to La Vanguardia.
Junts spokesperson Míriam Nogueras urged Sánchez to take what she called the "Starmer Way" — a reference to UK Labour leader Keir Starmer's path to power — implying he should step aside or call early elections. Despite the harsh words, a formal motion of censure is unlikely to succeed now. Partners like Junts and PNV are holding out for 2027 budget negotiations to extract maximum concessions, Libertad Digital reported.
Budget Paralysis Leaves Government Running on Empty
Spain is now operating on its 2023 budget for the third consecutive year. The government failed to pass accounts for 2024, 2025, and 2026. The original plan to present a 2026 budget collapsed after a global energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in February. Sánchez has now announced he will skip 2026 entirely and start early work on a 2027 budget, according to El Periódico de Aragón.
Spain's debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 100.7%, making budget credibility a pressing issue. The government aims to bring the deficit down to 2.1% by 2027, but without a current budget in force, those targets are difficult to defend. The Congressional Bureau, controlled by PSOE and Sumar, vetoed a joint PP-Junts amendment on June 16 that sought to legally force a snap election, El País reported.
A Hot Autumn Ahead as 2027 Election Looms
Sánchez publicly rules out early elections. But the PSOE is preparing for a difficult autumn of new judicial hearings and potential parliamentary defeats. If the 2027 budget fails in early 2027, a spring general election becomes the most likely outcome, Europa Press reported. Partners will keep pressure on without pulling the plug, knowing their leverage disappears the moment the government falls.
The two competing frames are clear. Pro-government outlets like El Diario describe the judicial pressure as "lawfare" — politically motivated legal attacks — and call Judge Peinado's measures against Begoña Gómez "disproportionate." Opposition-aligned outlets like La Razón call it a "moral collapse" of the ruling coalition. Either way, the gap between Sánchez and the partners who put him in power has rarely been wider.
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