Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party has banned its members from using the services of sex workers after a massive scandal erupted in Spain when one of the party’s key figures was arrested in connection with an investigation into corruption and the hiring of sex workers. However, the sex scandal was almost immediately followed by another, undermining Sanchez’s attempts at damage control and quelling public anger.

Pedro Sanchez is facing the biggest crisis of his seven-year premiership after Santos Cerdan, a former high-ranking official in the Socialist Party (PSOE), was recently arrested. In mid-June, Cerdan resigned from his party positions, left the PSOE, and gave up his parliamentary seat after the Spanish Civil Guard released a report accusing him of unjustifiably favoring certain construction companies in public procurement contracts in exchange for illegal kickbacks, which he allegedly passed on to former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos and Abalos’s former advisor, Koldo García Izaguirre.

Pedro Sanchez is facing the biggest crisis of his seven-year premiership after Santos Cerdan, a former high-ranking official in the Socialist Party (PSOE), was recently arrested. (Photo: AFP)

During the year-long investigation, numerous recordings made by the former advisor surfaced, in which he and Abalos discussed placing acquaintances in government jobs, distributing kickbacks, and inviting prostitutes.

In one recording, the minister and his former advisor could be heard bargaining over which woman’s services they would like to use, mentioning a woman named Ariatna and “a Colombian.”

Koldo García: „Pero a ti te gusta más Ariatna”

José Luis Ábalos: „No creas, la Carlota se enrolla que te cagas”

Koldo García: „Pues la que tú quieras. O Ariatna y Carlota, y a tomar por culo”.

👂 Los audios entre Koldo y Ábalos, en #MalasLenguas pic.twitter.com/AC8NhLceE8

— Malas Lenguas (@MalasLenguasLa2) June 13, 2025

In an attempt to contain the scandal, the Socialist Party announced that:

“From now on, party members are prohibited from soliciting, accepting or obtaining sexual acts in exchange for money, and violators will be punished with the maximum sanction: expulsion from the party.”

“If we believe that a woman’s body is not for sale, then our party cannot allow behaviour that contradicts this,” Sanchez told party leaders during a meeting in Madrid, once again apologizing for having trusted individuals who became embroiled in the growing scandal. However, he emphasized that he would not resign.

„The captain doesn’t look the other way when seas get rough. He stays to steer the ship through the storm,”

he said.

It is no surprise that the party is trying to mitigate the damage caused by the severe corruption scandal. According to Reuters, the PSOE’s popularity has significantly dropped since the scandal broke.

A survey conducted by the Db40 polling institute between June 26 and 30 among 2,000 people showed the PSOE’s support falling to 27%, a two-year low, down from 29.8% in the previous month’s survey. Meanwhile, the main opposition People’s Party stood well ahead with 33.3% support.

Outrage in Spain has also been fueled by the fact that despite the serious charges and the arrest, Cerdan is still entitled to a severance payment of around 20,000 euros.

One Sex Scandal After Another

Just days after the PSOE announced the ban on members hiring sex workers, a new sex scandal erupted.

Francisco Salazar, another close ally of Sanchez, requested to be relieved of his party duties after several women within the party accused him of “inappropriate behaviour” when he was their superior, according to the Spanish news portal elDiario. Salazar requested an investigation on himself after the media reported that he had harassed his female colleagues:

He made obscene comments about their clothing and bodies, harassed them with messages and invitations to dine outside work hours, and made other advances. Harassment and the use of sexually explicit language became a permanent feature of the professional environment.

El Gobierno ha cesado a Francisco Salazar de su cargo en Moncloa tras las acusaciones de acoso sexual.

▶https://t.co/w5yKelrTzC pic.twitter.com/rCWx705A3Q

— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) July 8, 2025

Similar Incidents Have Happened Before

In October last year, a member of Spain’s left-wing governing coalition was accused of sexual harassment. Inigo Errejon, spokesperson for the far-left Sumar party that governs jointly with Pedro Sanchez, unexpectedly announced his resignation on social media, citing physical and emotional exhaustion. However, it soon emerged that the real reason behind his departure was that an actor and television host had filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.