Sanchez Announces He May Retire As Premier

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced in a “letter to citizens” on Xthat he is considering retiring as premier and will make his decision on April 29. The letter comes after a Spanish judge opened a preliminary investigation in Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, over accusations of corruption.

• Sánchez said in the letter: "I urgently need an answer to the question of whether it is worthwhile ... whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour."
• Sánchez told parliament today: “On a day like today, and despite the news I have heard, despite everything, I still believe in justice in my country.”
• FT reports that the case has driven political acrimony in Madrid to new heights with Esther Muñoz, deputy secretary of opposition People’s Party, saying: “It is the head of the government who is putting the spotlight on his wife with his silence, not the People’s party.”
• Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero accused the PP of getting mixed up with the “practices and discourses of the extreme right.”
• Sánchez’s decision could imperil his fragile minority coalition, which faces a major test at the Catalan regional election on May 12 - called early by regional president Pere Aragonès in response to Sánchez’s failure to pass a budget for Catalonia.
• AP notes: "Sánchez’s government in Madrid relies on Catalan separatist parties to approve laws in Spain’s parliament. The central government is also trying to win the backing of those parties to pass a national budget."