Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday angrily rejected allegations of Socialist Party (PSOE) corruption during a stormy appearance before a Senate inquiry, dismissing the proceedings as ‘a circus’ and ‘a witch hunt’.
The combative five-hour session saw Sánchez repeatedly pressed over an alleged kickback scheme linked to Covid-19 equipment contracts – a scandal that has shaken his government and tarnished his anti-corruption credentials since taking power in 2018, when he vowed to clean up Spanish politics after the right wing’s own graft convictions.
The inquiry centres on accusations that prominent socialists received payments in exchange for public contracts. Among those implicated are former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and ex-party heavyweight Santos Cerdán, both once close allies of Sánchez who helped engineer his rise to power.
Also under scrutiny is Ábalos’s onetime adviser Koldo García, a key suspect in the case that has already seen police raids on PSOE headquarters in Madrid and Cerdán taken into custody. ALSO READ: Judge orders pre-trial detention for PSOE’s former organisation secretary.
The right-wing opposition People’s Party (PP), which holds a majority in the senate house, is pushing to prove Sánchez had knowledge of or was complicit in the alleged scheme – accusations he flatly denied.
Sánchez told senators that the party’s finances were ‘absolutely clean’ and insisted that cash reimbursements linked to the investigation were ‘perfectly legal’ for official expenses so long as receipts existed.
Questioned about his 2021 dismissal of Ábalos, Sánchez maintained the decision was ‘fundamentally political’ and reminded the chamber that ‘being under investigation is not a conviction’. ALSO READ: Former Spanish transport minister denies corruption allegations in court.
He also hit back at the PP over its own history of corruption, arguing that the PSOE had ‘acted with absolute firmness’ in response to the current affair.
The hearing’s PP chair repeatedly admonished both Sánchez and other senators for interrupting or straying off topic during what became a bitterly partisan confrontation.
Throughout the exchanges, Sánchez branded the inquiry ‘a circus’, ‘witch hunt’, ‘mudbath’, ‘inquisitorial’, and ‘a coarse weaponisation’ of the Senate. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez: ‘There are judges doing politics and politicians trying to do justice’.
The PP has kept up pressure over alleged socialist graft in hopes of triggering early elections, but Sánchez has refused to resign or dissolve parliament.
A damning police dossier earlier this year naming Cerdán briefly threatened to fracture the socialist-led coalition with the left-wing Sumar alliance. In July, Sánchez introduced new anti-corruption reforms to mend relations with Sumar and smaller regional and separatist partners whose backing is crucial for passing legislation. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez vows not to quit, and presents 15-point anti-corruption plan.
Meanwhile, separate probes have targeted Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez, keeping the government under sustained scrutiny. ALSO READ: Brother of Spanish prime minister to face trial for alleged influence peddling.
Adding to the embarrassment, the socialist-appointed Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, is due to stand trial next week on charges of leaking confidential information about the partner of Madrid’s powerful PP regional president. ALSO READ: Spain’s Supreme Court confirms trial of country’s Attorney General will go ahead.
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👉Finaliza la comparecencia del presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, @sanchezcastejon en la Comisión de Investigación sobre las operaciones del Gobierno y del sector público relacionadas con la #OperaciónDelorme
— Senado de España (@Senadoesp) October 30, 2025
➡️Web: https://t.co/XudB9ngNZc
📄 https://t.co/x9tKubzY81 pic.twitter.com/nTzR2DnJvo
La tensión durante el interrogatorio a Pedro Sánchez en la comisión del caso Koldo, en el Senado, ha sido enorme desde el primer minuto.
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) October 30, 2025
Una comisión que Sánchez ha calificado de circo.
Lo cuenta Almudena Guerrero
▶️ https://t.co/QLLFK4XVB2 pic.twitter.com/KnJS8lPnQq
La tensión durante el interrogatorio a Pedro Sánchez en la comisión del caso Koldo, en el Senado, ha sido enorme desde el primer minuto.
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) October 30, 2025
Una comisión que Sánchez ha calificado de circo.
Lo cuenta Almudena Guerrero
▶️ https://t.co/QLLFK4XVB2 pic.twitter.com/KnJS8lPnQq
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