MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled a plan to root out corruption on Wednesday, seeking to maintain parliamentary support for his government after senior members of his governing Socialist Party were accused of taking bribes.
A Supreme Court judge last month ordered the pre-trial detention of Santos Cerdan, the former number three in the party, over allegations that he received and distributed kickbacks in exchange for awarding public works contracts.
Cerdan denies the allegations, which are part of a wider corruption inquiry that has led to opposition calls for a snap election that threaten to destabilise Sanchez’s government.
Sanchez, who is Secretary General of the Socialist Party, told parliament at an extraordinary session on the case that he had briefly considered quitting but decided to stay on, arguing that he himself had done no wrong.
“I am a clean politician, I will not throw in the towel,” he said.
Sanchez, who again rejected calls for an early election, announced 15 measures including preventing companies found guilty of bribery from winning government procurement contracts and working with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s anti-corruption team to crack down on graft.
LACKING ‘CHECKS AND BALANCES’
Last week, Sanchez removed Cerdan allies from the leadership and announced reforms to the party “to avoid excessive concentration of power” and provide whistleblower anonymity.
Transparency International Spain welcomed the inclusion of civil society in policing public procurement processes and said it would be “vigilant” in ensuring the measures announced turned into “concrete and sustained actions.”
Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, an international lawyer who founded España Mejor, a civic group pushing for political reform, said none of the measures would root out systemic corruption in Spanish political life as none targeted politicians themselves.
“The problem is not just companies, or the administration, the problem is the level of ethics of Spanish politicians and the fact that Spain lacks the basic checks and balances that operate in most other democratic countries,” she told Reuters.
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the opposition People’s Party, urged Sanchez to assume responsibility for his party’s actions, report what he knew about the case and call elections.
“It’s not only the decent way out, but you have no choice,” Feijoo said.
The minority coalition led by the Socialists relies on a loose alliance of smaller parties to pass legislation, which has so far rejected Feijoo’s overtures to back a no-confidence vote.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Inti Landauro, editing by Aislinn Laing, Charlie Devereux, Philippa Fletcher and Bernadette Baum)
