An ally of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has resigned after allegations of sexual harassment — in a fresh blow for Spain’s Socialist Party just weeks after a string of corruption scandals erupted.
Francisco Salazar, a close ally of Sánchez, stepped down from his position as a deputy in the party’s secretariat and asked for the claims to be investigated, the Socialist Party said in a statement.
The allegations were made in the left-wing Spanish news site elDiario.es. The outlet alleged that Salazar made inappropriate comments about a female subordinate’s clothing and body, invited her to dinner alone and asked her to sleep at his home.
The Socialist Party said it will begin an investigation immediately, but said no official complaints had been made.
The latest incident is a fresh blow for Sánchez, who was due to speak at the party’s headquarters in Madrid as the news broke. Reuters reported that Sánchez spoke an hour later than scheduled, and called for any woman suffering sexual abuse to report it via the party’s official channels. He did not mention Salazar directly.
Sánchez publicly apologized last month for the party’s recent corruption scandals including senior party figures. The Spanish prime minister, who leads a minority coalition government, has repeatedly come under fire for the scandals.
The main opposition party, the center-right Peoples’ Party, has accused Sánchez of being a “capo” leading a “mafia” administration, while protests in Madrid organized by the PP last month drew tens of thousands.
Even from within his own party, politicians from Spain’s cities and regions have called for Sánchez to hold snap national elections — even while knowing their party would be virtually guaranteed to lose.
The speech at the Socialist Party’s headquarters was intended to draw a line under the recent scandals and announce a shake-up of the party to bolster its reputation.
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