Aitor Esteban
Spanish lawyer, university teacher and politician
Photo: Carmen Moraga / El diario, CC BY-SA 3.0 es (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- May 30
Spain's Governing Partners Demand Early Elections as Corruption Scandals Mount, but Reject Backing a No-Confidence Vote
Key parliamentary allies of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez are publicly demanding he call snap elections, declaring the legislature exhausted amid a wave of corruption investigations targeting his Socialist party, while simultaneously refusing to support a conservative-led no-confidence motion.
- May 30
Spanish PP leader Tellado demands PNV withdraw support from Sánchez's 'mafia' government, calls for immediate elections
Miguel Tellado, secretary-general of Spain's Partido Popular, escalated political tensions in Bilbao on Saturday by branding Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a 'mafia boss' and demanding the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) immediately withdraw its parliamentary support, calling the situation a 'democratic emergency'.
- May 28
PNV's Esteban declares Spanish legislature 'finished,' demands early elections but rules out no-confidence motion
Basque Nationalist Party president Aitor Esteban declared Spain's legislature has "reached its end" and called on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to dissolve parliament and hold elections in 2026, while firmly rejecting any no-confidence motion.
- May 28
Spain's Senate censures Sánchez government over corruption scandals as key allies PNV and Junts abstain
The Spanish Senate approved a non-binding motion on Wednesday condemning Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government over multiple corruption investigations, with crucial parliamentary allies PNV and Junts abstaining rather than voting against the measure.
- May 26
Zapatero Case: Jewels, Secret Agendas, and 16 Million Euros Diverted from Plus Ultra Rescue to a Gold Trafficking Network
The judicial investigation tightens around former Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, with police seizing jewels and agendas from his office and tracing millions from the Plus Ultra airline bailout to opaque accounts linked to gold trafficking.
- May 26
PNV and Junts Tighten the Screws on Sánchez but Reject a No-Confidence Motion, Preferring an Early Election
The Basque PNV and Catalan Junts are intensifying pressure on Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez over the Zapatero scandal, but both parties are cooling on a formal no-confidence motion, fearing it would benefit their rivals and force them into an alliance with the far-right.