The PSOE’s federal committee met in Madrid amid intense internal and judicial turbulence, with Pedro Sánchez facing a party shaken by scandals and growing dissent. The first meeting in a year came as Sánchez faced mounting isolation in Congress and renewed calls for early elections from coalition partners. On 17 October, the committee unanimously proclaimed Sánchez the party’s candidate for the next general election at a gathering in Fuenlabrada, projecting public unity despite the ongoing disputes.
Central to the crisis is the Supreme Court’s 22 June 2026 sentence of former Transport Minister and former PSOE organisation secretary José Luis Ábalos to 24 years and three months in prison over corruption linked to pandemic-era mask contracts. His former adviser Koldo García received a sentence of 19 years and eight months. The court’s findings covered criminal organisation, bribery, influence peddling and embezzlement. It found that businessman Víctor de Aldama channelled €6.6 million in commissions through two companies and paid €10,000 a month toward Ábalos’s fixed expenses. The defendants were ordered to forfeit €430,298 in bribes. Ábalos has called the verdict politically predetermined. After his and García’s applications to annul it were rejected in October, an appeal to the Constitutional Court remained possible.
The separate investigation involving Santos Cerdán, who succeeded Ábalos as PSOE organisation secretary, concerns alleged kickbacks tied to public-works contracts. Cerdán spent 142 days in pre-trial detention during 2025, but the case remained under investigation by National Court judge Ismael Moreno; the cited account said no indictment or trial date had been set. His procedural status is distinct from Ábalos’s conviction. The proceedings involving Begoña Gómez, Sánchez’s wife, are separate too. On 21 September 2026, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado sent her case to trial over allegations including influence peddling and misappropriation of public funds connected to her work at the Complutense University and her assistant’s role at La Moncloa. The cited account said no trial date had been set.
The fallout from Ábalos’s conviction, alongside the separate investigations, has left PSOE leaders under pressure to take a tougher stance. Despite public demands from regional leaders and party officials, Ferraz has yet to decide whether to take legal action against Leire Díez. Some party members see the move as a way to send a political message and limit reputational damage.
Enma López’s abrupt resignation from the federal executive, after announcing her intention to run in the 2027 Madrid mayoral primaries, has exposed deep divisions within the party. Ferraz sharply criticized López for acting prematurely, fuelling internal confusion and signalling a loss of centralized control. Several regional leaders predict a wave of independent candidacies across Spain and describe the situation as increasingly critical and unpredictable.
The committee was expected to address a new primary calendar for selecting regional and municipal candidates, with three flexible windows scheduled for July, September and November to accommodate local interests. The judicial front, but, remains a dominant concern. Judge Peinado’s decision to confiscate Gómez’s passport, as described in the committee debate, reinforced some PSOE members’ belief that a politically motivated judicial campaign was under way. In remarks reported on 22 October, Sánchez defended his wife, saying she left her job when she arrived at La Moncloa and denying that she could exercise influence. He has also acknowledged that corruption scandals affecting the PSOE, including the Ábalos case, were among his biggest errors as prime minister.
Meanwhile, the party awaits clarification from former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero about his jewelry collection, valued at €1.3 million. Some within the PSOE privately question Zapatero’s ethics, though public criticism remains muted. Sánchez has left it to Zapatero to decide whether to hand the jewels over to the state, while the National Court has invited the Ministry of Finance to join the investigation.
Grassroots support for Sánchez remains visible. A letter circulating among party members denounces what its signatories describe as a coordinated campaign to bring down the government. It claims that, since 2023, parts of the right have refused to accept election results and have used judicial, media and political means to undermine the PSOE-led administration.
Regional opposition to the new funding model agreed with ERC has added another layer of conflict. Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha, both governed by socialist presidents, have rejected the proposal, arguing that it disadvantages less wealthy regions. Catalonia, led by Salvador Illa, backs the reform. The Asturian finance minister criticized the plan for failing to address local needs, while Emiliano García-Page, the only PSOE regional leader with an absolute majority, condemned what he described as privileges negotiated with separatists and warned against trading away the principle of territorial equality.
The PSOE’s federal committee is the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses. It sets electoral strategy and helps resolve internal disputes. With municipal and regional elections scheduled for May 2027, its decisions on candidate selection and party strategy could shape the PSOE’s direction and influence Spain’s political field in the months ahead.
