Spain ruling party bars members from hiring sex workers
In a bid to right the ship, the Socialist party announced that "soliciting, accepting or obtaining sexual acts in exchange for money" was now banned for party members, punishable by "the maximum sanction, expulsion from the party".
"If we believe a woman's body is not for sale, our party cannot allow behaviour contrary to that," Sanchez said.
"These are difficult times for everyone, without a doubt," he told party leaders at a meeting in Madrid, once again apologising for trusting those caught up in the growing scandal.
But he also reiterated his refusal to step down.
"The captain doesn't look the other way when seas get rough. He stays to steer the ship through the storm," he said.
The party also announced a leadership shake-up, replacing Cerdan as its number three official with 44-year-old lawyer Rebeca Torro.
The meeting started behind schedule after another close Sanchez ally, Francisco Salazar, who had been due to take a top leadership post, resigned.
Online news site eldiario.es said Salazar had been accused of "inappropriate behaviour" by several women who had formerly reported to him in the party.
Former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos has also been implicated in the investigation into kickbacks for public contracts.
The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) held a meeting of its own, looking to capitalise on the Socialists' stumbles.
"We're the only alternative to this state of decline," said PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, calling his party the answer to Spain's divisions and "political fatigue".
© 2025 AFP
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France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Spain ruling party bars members from hiring sex workers
Sanchez, 53, is facing the biggest crisis of his seven years in power. That was heightened on Monday by the detention of a former top official in his Socialist party, Santos Cerdan, in an investigation involving allegations of corruption and hiring sex workers. In a bid to right the ship, the Socialist party announced that "soliciting, accepting or obtaining sexual acts in exchange for money" was now banned for party members, punishable by "the maximum sanction, expulsion from the party". "If we believe a woman's body is not for sale, our party cannot allow behaviour contrary to that," Sanchez said. "These are difficult times for everyone, without a doubt," he told party leaders at a meeting in Madrid, once again apologising for trusting those caught up in the growing scandal. But he also reiterated his refusal to step down. "The captain doesn't look the other way when seas get rough. He stays to steer the ship through the storm," he said. The party also announced a leadership shake-up, replacing Cerdan as its number three official with 44-year-old lawyer Rebeca Torro. The meeting started behind schedule after another close Sanchez ally, Francisco Salazar, who had been due to take a top leadership post, resigned. Online news site said Salazar had been accused of "inappropriate behaviour" by several women who had formerly reported to him in the party. Former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos has also been implicated in the investigation into kickbacks for public contracts. The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) held a meeting of its own, looking to capitalise on the Socialists' stumbles. "We're the only alternative to this state of decline," said PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, calling his party the answer to Spain's divisions and "political fatigue". © 2025 AFP
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Footballers play with Franco head at Spain art festival
The "La Copa del Generalisimo" performance, subversively taking the name of a tournament played during Franco's iron grip on the country from 1939 to 1975, comes as Spain marks the 50th anniversary of his death. The experimental "Ex Abrupto" art festival pitted two teams against each other for a self-styled "anti-fascist fixture" in Moia, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Barcelona. The choice of pitch was also highly symbolic, close to former trenches used by the defeated republican side in the 1936-1939 civil war that brought Franco to power after his coup. The recreated hyper-realistic head was fashioned by the Indecline group and Eugenio Merino, an artist whose work has tackled Franco and the right-wing dictatorship on several occasions. He attracted attention more than a decade ago with "Always Franco", a life-sized representation of the general in a refrigerator that sparked an uproar at Madrid's ARCO art festival in 2012. Merino courted controversy again with "Punching Franco", a work that used the dictator's head as a punching ball. The Francisco Franco Foundation, which works to promote the late dictator's legacy, lodged complaints against both works that were rejected by the courts. Merino used the same mould for the resin and silicone-covered head which was the protagonist of Thursday's match. "It's the 50th anniversary of Franco's death and I thought it was necessary to commemorate" it, Merino told local radio RAC 1. "We recover that idea of the people that plays and enjoys, and we also recover the idea of anti-fascism." The game, which only allowed limited spectator numbers, was recorded for broadcast on Friday and Saturday in a bar in Moia, while the head can be visited in a local museum. Merino and Indecline had already teamed up to send political messages, using the recreated head of Donald Trump to play football at the wall on the US-Mexico border and one of Brazil's rightist former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Euronews
19-06-2025
- Euronews
Spain rejects NATO's 5% of GDP spending proposal as 'unreasonable'
Spain rejected a NATO proposal to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defence needs that's due to be announced next week, calling it "unreasonable." Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in a letter sent on Thursday to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, said that Spain "cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP" at next week's NATO summit in The Hague. Any agreement to adopt a new spending guideline must be made with the consensus of all 32 NATO member states. So Sánchez's decision risks derailing next week's summit, which US President Donald Trump is due to attend and creating a last-minute shakeup that could have lingering repercussions. Most US allies in NATO are on track to endorse Trump's demand that they invest 5% of GDP on their defence and military needs. In early June, Sweden and the Netherlands said that they aim to meet the new target. A NATO official said on Thursday that discussions between allies were ongoing about a new defence spending plan. "For Spain, committing to a 5% target would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive, as it would move Spain away from optimal spending and it would hinder the EU's ongoing efforts to strengthen its security and defence ecosystem," Sánchez wrote in the letter that was seen by The Associated Press. Spain was the lowest spender in the trans-Atlantic alliance last year, directing less than 2% of its GDP on defence expenditure. Sánchez said in April that the government would raise defence spending by €10.5 billion in 2025 to reach NATO's previous target of 2% of GDP. On Thursday, Sánchez called for "a more flexible formula" in relation to a new spending target, one that either made it optional or left Spain out of its application. Sánchez wrote that his country is "fully committed to NATO," but that meeting a 5% target "would be incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision." He said that doing so would require cutting public services and scaling back other spending, including toward the green transition. Instead, Spain will need to spend 2.1% of GDP to meet the Spanish military's estimated defence needs, Sánchez said. Domestic corruption scandals that have ensnared Sánchez's inner circle and family members have put the Spanish leader under increasing pressure to call an early election, even among some of his allies. Increased military spending is also unpopular among some of Sanchez's coalition partners. In April, when Sánchez announced that Spain would reach NATO's previous 2% spending target, the move angered some coalition members further to the left of his Socialist Party. NATO allies agreed to spend 2% of GDP on military expenditure after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But the alliance's plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investments of at least 3%. The aim now is to raise the bar to 3.5% for core defence spending on tanks, warplanes, air defence, missiles and hiring extra troops. A further 1.5% would be spent on things like roads, bridges, ports and airfields so armies can deploy more quickly, as well as preparing societies for possible attack. Several allies have committed to reaching the new spending goal, even though other nations will struggle to find the billions required. Rutte had been due to table a new proposal on Friday aimed at satisfying Spain and trying to break the deadlock. European allies and Canada want to end the standoff before the leaders meet with Trump on Wednesday. Poland and the Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have already publicly committed to 5%, and Rutte has said that most allies were ready to endorse the goal. But Spain isn't alone among NATO's low spenders. Belgium, Canada and Italy will also struggle to hike security spending by billions of dollars. A big question still to be answered is what time frame countries will be given to reach an agreed-upon new spending goal. A target date of 2032 was initially floated, but Rutte has said that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on NATO territory by 2030. The Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, has expressed serious concerns regarding the conduct of German authorities in response to pro-Gaza demonstrations. In a letter addressed to the German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, O'Flaherty highlighted what he perceives as infringements on freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. 'Since February 2025, Berlin authorities have imposed restrictions on the use of the Arabic language and cultural symbols during protests. In certain instances, such as the demonstration held on 15 May 2025, marches were limited to static gatherings. Additionally, protestors have reportedly been subjected to intrusive surveillance—both online and in person—and arbitrary police checks,' O'Flaherty stated. The Commissioner also raised alarm over reports of disproportionate police violence during these events. 'I am deeply concerned by allegations of excessive force used by police against demonstrators, including minors, which in some cases led to injuries. The use of force by law enforcement must adhere to the principles of non-discrimination, legality, necessity, proportionality, and precaution,' he said. O'Flaherty has urged the German authorities to thoroughly investigate incidents of excessive force and to hold officers accountable where misconduct is found. He noted that police efforts to suppress Nakba Day commemorations—a remembrance of the 1948 displacement of Palestinians—were especially troubling. The Irish human rights advocate further pointed out that freedom of speech appears to be restricted within some German universities and cultural institutions. He cited reports of foreign nationals facing deportation following their involvement in pro-Gaza activities. 'I am concerned by indications that the working definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is being interpreted by some German authorities in a manner that equates any criticism of Israel with antisemitism,' O'Flaherty wrote. Tensions have run high in Germany since the beginning of the Gaza conflict, with frequent clashes at pro-Palestinian rallies. During the Nakba protest in mid-May, demonstrators were heard chanting slogans such as 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'—phrasing considered antisemitic under German law. The event saw several injuries as confrontations escalated. In April, five students were arrested during a protest at Humboldt University for chanting anti-Israeli slogans. German police have also taken action against demonstrators displaying banned symbols, including altered Hamas slogans.
