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Spain’s ruling socialist party, which has been battered by a barrage of corruption allegations and political setbacks, is scrambling to reassert its feminist credentials after being accused of failing to act on sexual misconduct by senior men in the party.
Pedro Sánchez appointed 11 women and six men to his cabinet when he became prime minister in 2018, saying his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) was “unmistakably committed to equality” and to reflecting recent changes in Spanish society.
But seven years on a slew of allegations of sexual harassment – and the PSOE’s response to them – have led some women in the party to call for urgent action.
The party’s travails date back to July, when Francisco Salazar, who had overseen institutional coordination at the Moncloa palace in Madrid – the office and official residence of the prime minister – resigned. The online newspaper elDiario.es had published allegations of sexual harassment against him by women in the PSOE.
At the time, sources at Moncloa said an investigation had been launched, but added that no official complaints had so far been made against Salazar. However, it has emerged in recent days that internal PSOE complaints lodged against Salazar by two female party members had been ignored for five months. The PSOE admitted “a lack of diligence” but said the failure to act had been the result of a computer system error.
Over the weekend, Sánchez fired Salazar’s former right-hand man, Antonio Hernández, for allegedly helping to cover up his boss’s alleged behaviour. Hernández has denied any such wrongdoing, while Salazar has said he could not recall any inappropriate interactions.
Then on Wednesday, José Tomé, a senior PSOE politician in the north-western province of Lugo who had been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, resigned from his posts. Tomé insisted he had been the victim of a “set-up”.
The PSOE’s commitment to feminism and equality was tarnished over the summer when recordings emerged of the former transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, and one of his aides, Koldo García Izaguirre, apparently discussing the various attributes of different sex workers. Defence lawyers for the accused have sought to question the authenticity of the recordings, but police analysis has suggested they have not been manipulated.
On Sunday three senior female members of the party called in an opinion piece in El País for “profound transformations that guarantee, full, real and effective equality”. Adriana Lastra, a former PSOE deputy secretary general, has also urged the party to fulfil its commitment to “women’s independence, safety and freedom” and to hand over details of the Salazar case to prosecutors.
Sánchez has assumed personal responsibility for the shortcomings of the Salazar investigations and has said his party will support Salazar’s alleged victims if they file a criminal complaint against him.
Opposition parties have seized on the allegations and the PSOE’s lack of action as proof of the government’s sleaze, hypocrisy and corruption. In parliament on Wednesday, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative People’s party (PP), told Sánchez: “Now everyone can see that when it comes to choosing between the abuser and the abused, you’re with the abuser. This doesn’t look like an isolated case – it’s the way you always act.”
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, accused Sánchez of “coming up with more plots than Netflix”.
Sánchez said his government was fighting to help women and to achieve greater equality, adding that all the PP was doing was embracing the reactionary views of Vox. “Feminism offers lessons to all of us – and to me, first and foremost,” he said. “But the big difference between us and the PP is that we take responsibility for our mistakes when we make them and we act as a result. What you do is cosy up to the historic mistake known as Vox.”
A senior PP figure accused of sexual misconduct last year announced on Wednesday that he was temporarily stepping back from the party after the PSOE filed a criminal complaint against him, accusing him of misuse of public funds, influence-peddling and sexual assault.
José Ignacio Landaluce – a senator who is also the mayor of the southern port city of Algeciras – said he would remain in those posts but was resigning as the leader of the local branch of the PP, adding that he maintained his “absolutely innocence” with regard to the accusations.
