Spanish PM Sánchez announces Congress appearance but again rules out election

Spanish Prime Minister and leader of the Socialists, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Monday that he will appear before Congress to give explanations regarding the 'Koldo' case and its connections to the party's former organization secretary, Santos Cerdán.

After meeting with the party leadership, Sánchez also stated that the Socialists will propose a parliamentary inquiry into the matter in Congress.

Speaking at a press conference at the party's headquarters in Madrid, Sánchez ruled out early elections and insisted that the PSOE is a "clean organization."

At the same time, he challenged the conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox – whom he accused of having their own cases of corruption or irregular financing – to submit a motion of no confidence.

According to Sánchez, his main duty is to protect the progressive coalition government.

Sánchez also announced a round of meetings this week with the parties that supported his investiture as PM, including Catalan pro-independence parties ERC and Junts, to hear their proposals and consider "complementary actions."

Corruption scandal

The announcement from the Spanish PM comes after mounting pressure on his government following revelations in the so-called Koldo case, a corruption scandal involving alleged kickbacks from public contracts.

Sánchez apologized on Thursday after one of party's top officials, Santos Cerdán, was implicated.

What are the allegations?

Santos Cerdán was Pedro Sánchez’s right-hand man until recently. He served as a Socialist MP and the party's organization secretary.

A police report leaked to the press on Wednesday night identified him as responsible for handling illegal commission payments linked to public contracts.

The report contains eight audio recordings of conversations between Cerdán, former Socialist minister José Luis Ábalos, and Ábalos’s former aide, Koldo García.

In the recordings, they allegedly discuss the payment of €620,000 in illegal commissions.

According to the report, Cerdán was in charge of "managing the alleged payments."

Less than 24 hours after the report was published, Cerdán announced his resignation, relinquishing both his seat in Congress and his position within the Socialist Party.

However, he defended his innocence: "I hope to focus on my defense and prove that I have never committed any wrongdoing."