Sánchez opens election campaign from Moncloa with economic data blitz and defense of family in corruption cases

Economic record

Pedro Sánchez opened his end-of-term press conference at Moncloa Palace with a barrage of economic data, framing his eight years in office as a period of sustained progress. He said Spain would close 2026 growing five times faster than Italy, four times faster than Germany, and three times faster than France. Unemployment, he noted, had fallen below 10% for the first time in nearly two decades, while social security affiliation hit record levels. Public debt had been cut by 20 percentage points, and social spending increased by 145 billion euros. The government, he added, had passed 26 laws in the current parliamentary session alone, more than a third of all legislation in the legislature.

This government is working and is moving Spain forward, placing it in a much better position than the one we found in 2018.

The presentation, titled "Cumpliendo" (Delivering), was widely interpreted as the unofficial start of the electoral campaign, with Sánchez positioning his economic management as the central argument for re-election.

Family under fire

The press conference quickly turned to the judicial cases surrounding the prime minister's immediate family. His brother, David Sánchez, was recently sentenced to nine years of disqualification for prevarication linked to his 2017 hiring by the Badajoz provincial council. His wife, Begoña Gómez, faces trial by jury on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement. Sánchez dismissed both proceedings as politically motivated, driven by "popular accusations" from the opposition PP and Vox.

She is not my wife, she is Begoña Gómez, who has even sacrificed her professional development simply because I am president of the government.

He detailed his brother's academic credentials, a degree in economics from ICADE, a degree in composition and conducting from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and fluency in four languages, and insisted that both relatives were professionals in their own right long before his political rise. He called the sentence against his brother "unjust" and expressed confidence that higher courts would overturn it. On his wife, he asked: "Does the partner of a president have to give up their career? Is that the Spain we want?"

Zapatero and the jewels

Sánchez also addressed the investigation into former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose office was found to contain jewels valued at 1.3 million euros. While he reiterated the government's "support" and respect for the presumption of innocence, his tone was noticeably cooler than in previous statements. He refused to comment on the shifting testimony of Zapatero's former associate Julio Martínez, who now implicates the ex-leader in efforts to secure a state loan for airline Plus Ultra.

I am not the spokesperson for President Zapatero.

Sánchez insisted the Plus Ultra rescue was "impeccable" and had been reviewed exhaustively, describing it as a loan, not a bailout. He said the investigation was in its early stages and that Zapatero would have to provide his own explanations.

Campaign launch

The 90-minute appearance, with 16 questions from five media outlets, was designed to shift the narrative from scandal to legacy. Sánchez accused his opponents of using the courts to "dehumanize" his family and undermine his government through "non-democratic methods." He confirmed the government's intention to approve the next budget, signaling that he intends to govern through the end of the term. Opposition figures and commentators were quick to react; journalist María Claver remarked that Sánchez "lives in a parallel reality" and is now a man "only defending himself."

The event cemented the battle lines for the coming election: a contest between economic stewardship and judicial accountability.