Former Prime Minister Felipe González and Castilla-La Mancha President Emiliano García-Page urged Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to resign or call early elections.
The public demands from two high-ranking figures within the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) signal a deepening internal rift. This pressure comes as the party faces a crisis of legitimacy following a severe judicial ruling against a former top official.
The calls for a change in leadership follow the sentencing of José Luis Ábalos, the former secretary of organization for the PSOE. A court sentenced Ábalos to 24 years in prison [1]. This legal blow has intensified concerns that the party is struggling to maintain stability.
González presented the current leadership with a stark choice during a recent colloquium. "Two clearer options are to resign or call elections, so that they ratify you or rectify you," González said [1].
Emiliano García-Page joined the call for immediate action, suggesting that the party's current state is unsustainable. He noted that the party requires either a general election or a vote of confidence because the PSOE is in "agony," García-Page said [2].
The tension within the PSOE reflects a broader struggle to manage the fallout from the Ábalos case. By demanding a vote of confidence or a new election, the dissidents seek to force Sánchez to prove he still maintains the mandate of the electorate and the party base, a move that could trigger a premature end to the current legislative term.
“Two clearer options are to resign or call elections, so that they ratify you or rectify you.”
The alignment of a former Prime Minister and a powerful regional president against Pedro Sánchez indicates a coordinated effort to destabilize his leadership. By linking the demand for elections to the 24-year sentence of José Luis Ábalos, the critics are framing the current administration as legally and morally compromised, potentially forcing Sánchez into a high-risk political gamble to retain power.
