July 22, 2024 09:40 GMT
PM Summoned As Witness In Wife's Criminal Case
SPAIN
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been summoned to deliver testimony as part of a criminal investigation into his wife Begona Gomez's business dealings. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado will hear from Sanchez at the PM's gov't office at Moncloa at 1100CET on 30 July. Gomez was invited to deliver her testimony in court on 19 July, but refused to speak. No charges have been filed against Gomez, and the gov't denies any wrongdoing on her part.
- Potentially of greater threat to Sanchez's position are the souring relations among the parties propping up the minority gov't led by his centre-left PSOE. The current session of parliament comes to an end on 23 July, with a series of votes set to take place, but no guarantee that they will pass. Most notably, proposed reforms to Art.35 of the Immigration Law regarding the mandatory distribution of child immigrants across all Spanish regions.
- Gabriel Ruffian from the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), which backs Sanchez's gov't said that support for the gov't has been based on 'better the devil you know', claiming that "People have been voting for the lesser evil for too long to avoid the worse. And that is coming to an end."
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