Spain's Sánchez digs in after eight years as PM as wave of scandals threatens survival

The separatist group Eta ended its four-decades-long campaign of violence during his tenure."Symbolically speaking, this is very significant," said Paco Camas, head of public opinion in Spain for polling firm Ipsos. "The fact that this is the first former prime minister [to be investigated] makes it extremely serious. But also because he has been a moral reference for the party."Zapatero, who is due to be questioned in court on 17 June, has insisted he has done nothing illegal and for now, at least, he has Sánchez's "full support".The investigation that led to a 12-hour police raid on Socialist Party HQ in Madrid this week adds an extra dimension to Sánchez's woes. The allegation is that the party paid member Leire Díez to carry out a campaign to discredit police, judges and prosecutors who were investigating existing cases, such as that affecting Cerdán, who has been named as a suspect in this probe. Díez has denied that she performed this role.While Sánchez himself has not been directly implicated in any of the investigations, family members have. The allegations against his brother, David, who went on trial on Thursday, are that he was appointed to a musical post in Badajoz in south-west Spain without undergoing a selection process, and that once in the role he did not carry out his duties.Also, a judge has been investigating the business affairs of the prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, since 2024, and has proposed she go on trial for misuse of funds and influence peddling.