Spain’s opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after Santos Cerdan was ordered into pre-trial detention without bail.
Cerdan, the former PSOE Organisation Secretary, is accused of belonging to a criminal organisation, bribery and influence peddling.
READ MORE: What is the Koldo Case currently rocking Spain’s governing PSOE party?
The trial is part of the scandalous ‘Koldo Case’ probe that continues to grab the headlines in Spain and threatens to topple the ruling PSOE government.
‘The man Sanchez personally named as his deputy just six months ago is going to prison without bail, accused of organised crime and bribery,’ Feijoo posted on X.
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‘If this doesn’t warrant resignation and fresh elections, it’s because Sanchez has completely lost touch with reality.’
The damning court decision has triggered an all-out offensive from the Partido Popular (PP), with General Secretary Cuca Gamarra declaring: ‘Sanchismo is in prison without bail.’
‘This goes straight to the heart of Sanchismo,’ she said. ‘Pedro Sanchez’s obsession has always been how history would remember him.
‘Well, his government is now in prison without bail. This isn’t some isolated case – it affects him directly.’
Gamarra accused Sánchez of enabling Cerdan, claiming he was ‘his most trusted man for everything,’ and argued that the Prime Minister should step down immediately.
‘If Cerdan ends up behind bars, Pedro Sanchez must leave the Moncloa Palace.’
‘Systemic corruption’
The PP leadership is now framing the scandal as more than just political sleaze. Gamarra said Cerdan’s own words show that the motion of no confidence and Sanchez’s two investitures were negotiated ‘by a criminal organisation,’ calling Sanchez ‘the boss of Cerdan, Abalos and Koldo.’
‘The scale of what’s happened today confirms we’re dealing with systemic corruption,’ she said.
‘It’s time to call elections and bring in a clean government – one that turns the page on this era of economic, political, and moral decay.’
Sanchez: ‘Now is the time for justice’
Responding from the UN Summit in Sevilla, meanwhile, Sanchez kept his comments brief but defiant: ‘The PSOE acted decisively, now is the time for justice.’
