Sánchez rallies PSOE behind him, rejects early election calls and sets sights firmly on 2027

Party rallies behind Sánchez

The PSOE federal committee met on Saturday in Madrid with a show of near-unanimous support for Pedro Sánchez. Only two members out of over 220 openly called for early elections: Castilla-La Mancha president Emiliano García-Page and Palencia mayor Miriam Andrés. The rest, including the party's vice-secretary general María Jesús Montero and Madrid leader Óscar López, closed ranks and gave the prime minister what he wanted: full freedom to decide when to go to the polls.

“Those who now demand elections are the same people who wanted a PP government in 2015, opposed the censure motion in 2017 and rejected our pact in 2023.”

Corruption cases and the leadership's defense

The committee took place against a backdrop of severe judicial blows. Former organization secretary José Luis Ábalos was sentenced on Monday to 24 years in prison for his role in the mask procurement scandal. The Guardia Civil raided the party's headquarters in Ferraz, and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was indicted for influence peddling and tax fraud. Sánchez minimized the cases, saying they involved "specific individuals who took advantage of their positions" and denied systemic corruption. He also refused to make any self-criticism over the string of investigations encircling his party and family.

“They are trying to build a case against the Socialist Party. One thing is to answer for irregular conduct, and quite another to let the media and judicial far right create a feeling of widespread corruption.”

Internal opposition and its limited reach

García-Page described the current moment as the "worst in the PSOE's history" and called for a confidence motion or early elections, arguing it would protect the party from a punishment vote in the May 2027 regional ballots. His stance was rebuked by multiple senior figures. Óscar López countered that the party's nadir was actually 1993–1996, and Montero accused the right of manufacturing a "generalized sensation of corruption that does not exist." Patxi López, the party's congressional spokesman, said García-Page had "exaggerated to defend a position I do not share," though he acknowledged the committee was the proper forum for dissent.

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Eyeing the 2027 general election

Sánchez made no mention of four consecutive regional election defeats in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla y León and Aragón, where the PSOE lost by margins between 10% and 19%. Instead, he projected optimism: "I really want to win again in 2027." The government plans to present the 2026 budget, but its parliamentary allies, the Basque Nationalist Party and Junts, have already said the legislature is finished. Despite that, Sánchez repeated that he will govern until the next general election, which he alone will call, and that he intends to stay in office long enough to shape "the Spain of 2030."