Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Brussels on December 18, 2025. NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP
Since early December, a series of sexual harassment cases has engulfed the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), which was already weakened by corruption scandals involving individuals close to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The internal #MeToo scandal, which has angered many female grassroots activists, threatened to weigh heavily on the party's electoral prospects as Spain enters a new cycle of regional elections.
In June, audio recordings were released in which former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his adviser, Koldo García, crudely discuss organizing meetings with sex workers. The incident has already dealt an initial blow to the PSOE, beyond the broader corruption case at the heart of which both men are implicated.
The most embarrassing case for Sánchez concerned Salazar, one of his former aides at the Moncloa Palace, the official residence of the prime minister. Removed from the PSOE leadership in July for "inappropriate sexual behavior," Salazar saw the accusations resurface in early December, when several complainants told the press that they had not been contacted by the party for nearly five months, despite having filed reports.
