Already teetering on the brink, the controversial Spanish socialist government of Pedro Sánchez received another blow on Wednesday when specialist police arrived at their party headquarters, just a days after officers raided the home of a former party leader and his allies, finding a golf bag of cash and jewellery of dubious provenance.
Specialist police officers entered the headquarters of Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) to remove documents on Wednesday, just the latest development in what are now several concurrent investigations into various top party members accused of embezzlement, influence peddling, campaign financing irregularities, and money laundering.
The PSOE and its leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, have simultaneously signalled their willingness to cooperate with police and respect for the judicial system while also complaining of lawfare, judicial activism, and targeted media bullying intended to bring down the government.
Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera states the raid was — “according to sources familiar” — ordered so to “seek information on a possible illegal financing scheme, an investigation covered by investigative secrecy and separate from the [Venezuela funds] case being investigated by the same court”.
A police spokesman confirmed their officers did enter the political headquarters of the governing party this morning but did not confirm why. Euronews, however, reported the raid followed a subpoena relating to PSOE’s former Leire Díez “fixer” and alleged payments said to be linked to her. Díez was one of five prominent PSOE members arrested in December on secret charges.
Díez herself spoke out on Wednesday evening on the police raid, blaming “fake news” for it having taken place at all, denying wrongdoing, and stating: “It’s more of the same. What I’ve been experiencing for a year… It leaves me perplexed because I have already declared all my income”.
Amid the controversy and protests, the police raid against the PSOE offices took a faintly absurd tone on Wednesday after activists dispatched a Mariachi band to the headquarters to sing disparaging songs. One such song was famous Mexican ranchera hit Rata de Dos Patas, which decries of whomever it should be sung to that they are a “filthy rat, creeping animal, scum of life… subhuman… vermin, a poisonous serpent.”
The PSOE said in a statement on the arrival of officers at their offices on Wednesday morning that they received a “request for documentation from Court No. 5 of the National High Court, as part of proceedings that have been classified as confidential and are unrelated to illegal financing.” The party emphasised it was cooperating with the investigation, stating: “Of course, this request, which is for documentation, not a search, has been complied with in full cooperation with the party… The PSOE will always maintain a stance of full cooperation with the justice system and absolute respect for judicial proceedings.”
These assurances are probably necessary given PSOE’s recent history of accusing the legal system of working to take out his family and allies on the orders of the far right, with Prime Minister Sánchez previously remarking: “There’s no doubt that there are judges doing politics and there are politicians trying to do justice”.
As earlier reported, these various corruption probes saw the home of former PSOE leader and Spanish Prime Minister between 2004 and 2011, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, raided by police on Monday. He is embroiled in the Coronavirus-era bailout of a Spanish airline that is alleged to involve laundered Venezuelan millions, kickbacks, and influence peddling. Police are said to have previously discovered a safe stuffed with a large quantity of jewellery in his office safe, and separately found large quantities of cash stashed in a golf bag of Zapatero’s ally, Julio Martínez Martínez.
Last week, thousands marched on the streets of Madrid to demand the resignation of the government over the constant drumbeat of corruption allegations. Populist-right VOX leader Santiago Abascal addressed the march and said: “There is no one left in Pedro Sánchez’s entourage who is not accused of very serious crimes… [Spain has been] kidnapped by a corrupt mafia”.
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