The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, ruled out an early election this Wednesday after the Popular Party leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called for his resignation a day after the former socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was charged with influence peddling and document falsification in connection with the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra. “You get to the Government with votes, not shortcuts,” he said. “Full cooperation with justice, full respect for the presumption of innocence, and all my support for President Zapatero,” Sánchez said in a tense government control session taking place in Congress. Feijóo asked Sánchez what influence the former socialist president had in his government and accused him of leading a corrupt government. “You came to power to loot everything, whoever can steal, let them steal, that is the motto of your government,” he shot back. ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufián asked: “Where does lobbying end and influence peddling begin? If this is true, it’s crap.”
EL PAÍS offers the latest political news free of charge. If you want to support our journalism, subscribe.
Rufián: “Where does lobbying end and influence peddling begin? If this is true, it’s crap”
ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufián asked: “Where does lobbying end and influence peddling begin? If this is true, it’s crap.”
Sánchez rules out early election: “There will be elections in 2027”
“What are you still doing there staining the Presidency of the Government of Spain one more day?” the PP leader asked the head of government this Wednesday demanding his resignation, since, in his opinion, Sánchez is not in La Moncloa “to clean anything, but to loot everything.” The Prime Minister indicated that “what comes after eight years of progressive coalition government is growth, job creation, and social progress” and that what goes backward is due to agreements between the PP and Vox. “You get to the Government with votes, not shortcuts,” Sánchez shot back, ruling out an early election by stating that “there will be elections in 2027.” “If the Spanish want, we will be here for four more years to keep moving Spain forward,” he concluded.
‘PLUS ULTRA CASE’
Zapatero’s indictment blows up Sánchez’s plan to get out of the Andalusian hole
Spanish politics lives in permanent anguish. Just in the week when, in theory, a long year without elections was beginning, and a few days after Pedro Sánchez surpassed José María Aznar as the second longest-serving president in history, the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as the alleged leader of “a stable and hierarchical structure of influence peddling,” according to the harsh judge’s order, disarmed the Government this Tuesday and blows up Sánchez’s plan to try to regain momentum after the harsh blow of the Andalusian elections.
You can read the full information here
Feijoo accuses Sánchez of leading a corrupt government: “You came to power to loot everything”
The PP president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused Pedro Sánchez of being the leader of a corrupt government. “You came to power to loot everything, whoever can steal, let them steal, that is the motto of your government,” he shot back. After asking him what influence former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had over members of his government to get business, he implied that members of the Executive have been willing to be corrupted. “Without your Council of Ministers, Zapatero would not have been able to commit crimes, neither José Luis Ábalos, nor Santos Cerdán, nor anyone,” he said. “Spain is governed by corrupt people and I will make sure to change all this,” he concluded his intervention.
Sánchez defends Zapatero’s innocence and Feijóo asks for his resignation
Feijóo began his intervention referring to the fact that this Tuesday, a judge indicted Sánchez’s “moral beacon” and asked him how former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero exercised influence in his government, if he spoke to him directly, and if he is going to attack the judges of the National Court. “And the third and most important question: what are you still doing there staining the Presidency of the Government of Spain one more day?” Sánchez responded defending Zapatero’s innocence: “Full cooperation with justice, full respect for the presumption of innocence, and all my support for President Zapatero.”
“We’ve seen this before,” Feijóo replied. “They applauded Ábalos, and he is in jail, they defended super Santos Cerdán and he is on his way back to jail… We just need to know how long he can hold out without denying Zapatero as well,” he pointed out before reproaching Sánchez for not being “stunned” after the news and asking him to act “with the coherence of the very serious accusations” that were revealed this Tuesday. “You just have to read the order to realize that without your council of ministers, Mr. Zapatero would not have been able to commit crimes, neither he nor Ábalos nor Santos Serdán nor anyone in his environment. That is the key to everything. You never came to power to clean anything, but to loot everything,” Feijóo denounced, concluding his intervention by stating that Spain “is governed by corrupt people” and that he will make sure “to change all this.”
Patxi López, on Zapatero’s indictment: “I will keep defending him”
The PSOE spokesperson in Congress, Patxi López, has maintained his position regarding Zapatero’s indictment: “I will keep defending him until proven otherwise,” he assured upon entering this Wednesday’s control session. “When things are in the courts, let justice investigate, go to the end, and put the evidence on the table,” he added.
Rufián avoids backing Zapatero and praises the order: “It’s very well written”
ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufian said about Zapatero’s indictment that “he wants to know the Prime Minister’s opinion on what the order describes.” When asked what his opinion on the order was, the deputy said it “is very well written.”
Government control session begins
The government control session begins in the Congress of Deputies. The head of government, Pedro Sánchez, answers questions from Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP), Santiago Abascal (Vox), and Gabriel Rufián (ERC) a day after the indictment of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The PP president has submitted a generic question (When will you tell the Spanish the truth?); the Vox leader, one about housing; and the ERC spokesperson will ask Sánchez about the “plan” he has.
‘PLUS ULTRA CASE’
Desolation runs through the socialist ranks: “We don’t want to believe it. If Zapatero is guilty, we are left orphaned”
The indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for leading an influence peddling network has exhausted the few moral reserves the PSOE had left after the electoral disaster in Andalusia. The socialists entered a state of shock as the first doubts and the shadow of suspicion spread as details of the first investigation, and for corruption, of a former prime minister became known. “The first stage of grief is denial… We don’t believe it nor do we want to believe it, because if Zapatero is guilty for us, it would be like losing a political and above all moral reference,” explained the territorial leader of one of the most important federations. Despite “the penultimate tragedy,” the consulted leader does not foresee an early general election, nor do other consulted leaders.
Read more Today’s best flash deal on Amazon: Quiksilver quick-dry swimsuit with a 54% discount
You can read the full information here
‘PLUS ULTRA CASE’
Bathyscaphe illuminating the depths
Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist, designed the bathyscaphe Trieste, with which in 1960 he descended for the first time to the Mariana Trench. To reach the enormous depth of the trench bottom and be able to extract information, the device had to withstand enormous pressure and incorporate very powerful lights to illuminate the darkness of those marine depths. The order issued yesterday by the holder of Court No. 2 of the Central Instruction Section of the National Court is a similar device: it illuminates in its 85 pages with powerful lights a reality completely removed from the public eye.
You can read the full opinion here
‘PLUS ULTRA CASE’
Who is who in the “financial boutique” allegedly led by Zapatero?
The National Court judge José Luis Calama is investigating former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as the alleged leader of a “stable and hierarchical structure of influence peddling” that would act through a “personal core” whose purpose would be “obtaining economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favor of third parties, mainly Plus Ultra.” Beyond the former socialist leader and the airline, the investigator points to other people and companies that would be part of the network, with tentacles in at least three countries: Spain, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates.
You can read the full information here
‘PLUS ULTRA CASE’
The “multiple evidences” pointing to the former president: “Tomorrow Zapatero intervenes directly”
“Multiple evidences,” including “intercepted conversations, emails, institutional meetings, contracts, payments, and financial flows.” The order of the National Court judge José Luis Calama, who summons former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as a suspect, details the indications that point to the former PSOE leader as “the decision-making and strategic core” of the corruption network investigated in the so-called Plus Ultra case, which investigates alleged irregularities in the granting of a public aid of 53 million euros to this airline. “His leadership is not manifested formally or publicly, but through his capacity for direction, coordination, and supervision, avoiding as much as possible the direct execution of the most compromising managements,” the magistrate highlights.
You can read the full information here
Plus Ultra’s auditor appears this Wednesday in the Senate
The Senate investigation committee on the management of the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI) will host this Wednesday the appearance of Plus Ultra’s auditor, Jesús Ángel Carbajo, just the day after the indictment of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the Plus Ultra case.
The Popular Party, thanks to its absolute majority, pushed for this new investigation committee in the Senate to determine political responsibilities in the Plus Ultra case and has summoned several technical profiles. On this occasion, the PP has decided to call Jesús Ángel Carbajo, who is the auditor of Audicar S.L., the company responsible for auditing Plus Ultra.
This appearance comes after the National Court judge José Luis Calama decided to investigate Zapatero in the Plus Ultra case for alleged influence peddling. Once Zapatero’s indictment became known, the PP in the Senate issued a statement boasting of being “ahead of events” after the former Prime Minister assured in the Koldo commission of the Upper House that he did not receive commissions from Plus Ultra. (EP)
Column
To the facts
There is an order, more than 80 pages long. It details the indications for which, for a judge of the National Court, it is reasonable to investigate former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Before forming an opinion about the order, it is advisable at least to read it: and it is unlikely that anyone willing to know or understand could have read it by the time the first opinions, for or against Zapatero, were circulating. Endorsements run ahead of opinions because the first thing we have lost is time, in a literal sense: an initial opinion is needed before knowing what the matter is about. Those who doubt or ask will be called lukewarm, and Dante reserves a place for the lukewarm in the antechamber of hell.
You can read the full column here
Three questions for Sánchez in the government control session
At 9:00 a new government control session begins, likely marked by the indictment of former socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, known yesterday Tuesday. According to the agenda, the head of government, Pedro Sánchez, faces three questions. The first will be asked by the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo: “When will you tell the Spanish the truth?” The next to speak will be Santiago Abascal, from Vox: “Don’t you think that in Spain Spaniards should have preference at least in the allocation of public housing, social aid, and nurseries?” The last to address Sánchez will be Gabriel Rufián, ERC spokesperson in Congress, who will ask the Prime Minister “what plan he has.”
editorial
Zapatero, indicted
The indictment of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling and related crimes is an unprecedented earthquake for Spain that requires a detailed explanation from the accused himself and an immediate response from the current president, Pedro Sánchez. The investigation by the judge of Instruction Court number 4 of the National Court, José Luis Calama, holds that Zapatero is the alleged leader of “a stable and hierarchical structure of influence peddling.” It is a very serious accusation that must be investigated to the end without interference or political pressure.
You can read the full editorial here
‘Plus Ultra Case’
How does the judge justify the influence peddling charged to Zapatero?
The investigating magistrate José Luis Calama, who indicted former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero this week for the Plus Ultra case, considered that there are sufficient “indicative elements” to attribute to him —“with the provisional degree typical of this phase”— an alleged influence peddling. To support this, the judge details in his resolution that, after analyzing the intercepted communications and the collected documentation, “the required conditions” exist to attribute this crime to him: “existence of an influence exercised or simulated” by an “organized and hierarchical network” (where he places the former head of government); an “orientation” of his activity towards “obtaining a specific administrative resolution”; and a “functional link between the influence and the economic benefit.”
You can read the full information here
‘Plus Ultra case’
The judge points out that Zapatero trafficked with his influences with Chinese and Venezuelan companies through a front consultancy
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister between 2004 and 2011, became this Tuesday the first former head of government in democracy to be indicted by a judge. The former PSOE secretary general is investigated as the alleged “leader” of an “organized and stable structure” of influence peddling that acted, at least, between 2020 and 2025 and used his family and environment to channel alleged illegal commissions. The National Court judge José Luis Calama has decided to summon him to testify on June 2 in a judicial proceeding “followed for alleged crimes of influence peddling and money laundering.” The magistrate is forceful in his writing, which caused a real political earthquake this Tuesday by affecting a figure who has become a moral reference of the party and who has taken charge of the morale of the membership in recent times.
You can read the full information here
Good morning. We start the live narration of the latest political news this Wednesday, May 20. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the opposition leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, face off today in a government control session just 24 hours after the National Court indicted José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for influence peddling and document falsification in connection with the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra.
Read more We put the best adult swimming goggles to the test
