Spain’s embattled prime minister has been urged not to take his customary summer break in Lanzarote in order not to embarrass the island.
The stay-away plea to Pedro Sánchez was made by the local leader of the country’s main opposition party, Astrid Pérez, who is also speaker of the Canarian Parliament.
An authoritative figure in the Popular Party, Pérez said that the premier “is not welcome” in Lanzarote this year due to the multiple corruption scandals his party is embroiled in at present, including serious allegations concerning those closest to him.
As widely reported in the media here and abroad, the prime minister faces clamours for his resignation as investigations continue to uncover massive commissions said to have been paid by companies to senior figures in his PSOE party, including one of his ministers, in return for major public contracts.
Sánchez apologised to the country publicly on 12 June but has sought to distance himself from the allegations, although he admitted he “should not have trusted” one of those at the centre of the alleged kickback ring.
Other investigations are even closer to home for the under-pressure premier, who came to power in 2018 largely on a promise to clean Spain of the corruption practised by previous governments.
A Madrid judge continues to look into possible business irregularities by his wife, Begoña Gómez, while his musician brother David faces trial for alleged influence peddling after he obtained a dubiously awarded public post in Badajoz (Extremadura).
Resisting calls to stand down, a defiant Sánchez insists that he will see out his term in office despite growing signs that his political partners – including the Canarian Coalition – are reviewing their support for his fragile government.
Calling on him to break with custom and not use Lanzarote this summer, Astrid Pérez said that “a prime minister who does not even dare to show his face at present, cancels his official engagements in Spain to avoid the media, and who does not even have the backing of his own party, is not wanted here either. Out of respect for the people of Lanzarote, he should stay at home this summer”.
The island’s Mareta Palace in the municipality of Teguise is traditionally used by Spanish prime ministers for summer breaks and Sánchez has been known to fly down for the New Year also. The palace was built for the King of Jordan in the 1970s and was later donated by him to Spanish royal family, who were regular visitors before the current King Felipe instructed that it be transferred to the Department of National Heritage for use by dignitaries.
(Photo of prime minister Sánchez and wife on holiday in Lanzarote)
