Pressure is mounting on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after one of his closest parliamentary allies openly suggested his government may no longer be able to survive until the next general election.
The comments came from Aitor Esteban, president of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), who warned that the political situation surrounding Sanchez had become ‘very serious and very worrying’.
‘Not everything goes here anymore. There are already nine open cases, now Zapatero,’ Esteban said during a party event on Sunday.
The remarks are being seen in Madrid as the clearest sign yet that support for Sanchez among his allies is beginning to crack.
The political storm has intensified following reports surrounding former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been implicated in an investigation involving alleged criminal organisation activity, bribery and influence peddling.
The claims have dramatically escalated tensions within Spain’s governing bloc, although Sanchez and senior ministers continue publicly dismissing the growing number of judicial investigations as politically motivated ‘lawfare’.
Esteban, however, appeared to signal that patience within the PNV is wearing thin.
In comments widely interpreted as a call for early elections, he warned it would be ‘irresponsible’ for Sanchez to continue governing deep into 2026 ‘without direction, without budgets, without a stable majority and with an agenda dominated by judicial cases’.
The PNV has so far remained one of Sanchez’s most loyal parliamentary partners, standing by the government through multiple scandals linked to former PSOE figures including Jose Luis balos, Santos Cerdan and the so-called Koldo corruption case.
But political observers believe the latest developments could mark a turning point ahead of Spain’s municipal elections next year, with coalition partners increasingly nervous about the reputational damage from the mounting controversies.
Despite the pressure, Sanchez has repeatedly insisted he intends to remain in office until the next scheduled general election in 2027.
The Socialist leader recently became Spain’s second longest-serving democratic prime minister and is reportedly determined to surpass the record held by former PSOE heavyweight Felipe Gonzalez.
Still, the growing judicial and political turbulence is fuelling speculation that Sanchez’s fragile parliamentary coalition may struggle to hold together until then.
