Spain: Embattled Sánchez resists clamour for resignation
The investigation into commissions is part of an ongoing probe which has already implicated José Luis Ábalos, a former PSOE secretary and transport minister. A third person implicated is Koldo García, an advisor to Ábalos. Both men featured with Cerdán in the recently exposed audio. All three say they have done nothing wrong.The investigation into Ábalos, which began last year, was damaging for the government but his exit from the cabinet and the PSOE secretary post in 2021 put distance between him and Sánchez. However, the implication of Cerdán is more problematic.Sánchez had repeatedly defended him in the face of claims in the right-wing media over recent months that he was under investigation, and the prime minister even accused the opposition of "slandering honest people" when asked about Cerdán's activities last month.The party secretary, from the northern region of Navarre, was a trusted confidant of the prime minister, playing a crucial role, for example, in negotiating the support of Catalan nationalists to allow the formation of a new government in 2023.Despite acknowledging that he "should not have trusted" Cerdán, Sánchez has insisted that he will see out the legislature, which is due to end in 2027.In a letter to PSOE members he apologised again, while doubling down."There are many issues that affect the lives of the majority – healthcare, housing, pensions, jobs, fighting climate change and defending equality – and for which it is worth fighting still," he wrote. "Challenges that are not solved with headlines or lynchings."However, the opposition has presented the investigation as symptomatic of a corrupt regime, pointing to other probes affecting Sánchez and his circle.A judge has been investigating the prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, for possible business irregularities - and his musician brother, David, is due to go on trial for alleged influence peddling in taking up a public post in the south-western city of Badajoz. Meanwhile, the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, is also likely to face trial for revealing confidential details of a tax evader. All three deny wrongdoing.
Sánchez and his supporters have cast these three affairs as part of a campaign orchestrated by the conservative People's Party (PP), the far-right Vox, right-wing media and factions within the judiciary. A number of judicial experts have expressed surprise at the zeal with which the investigations have been carried out.In a raucous parliamentary session this week, opposition MPs chanted "Dimisión" (Resign) at the prime minister, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, accused him of being "a wolf who has led a corrupt pack".Paco Camas, head of public opinion in Spain for polling firm Ipsos, sees a Sánchez resignation as "political suicide" for his party, because it would almost certainly trigger elections, allowing the PP to form a government, probably with the support of Vox."The overall trend right now is a demobilised electorate on the left, particularly for the Socialist party, and an enormous mobilisation of voters on the right, which is capitalising on the discontent with the government," Camas said.Even the Socialist president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, has warned that "there is no dignified way out" for the PSOE.However, as long as Sánchez can keep his fragile parliamentary majority of left-wing and nationalist parties together there is little the opposition can do to bring him down.To that end, the prime minister has been frantically trying to reassure these allies, many of who have voiced outrage at the Cerdán-Ábalos scandal. Camas believes that persuading them to support a 2026 budget could be a way for Sánchez to buy some time.Nonetheless, such plans could be left in tatters were more explosive revelations to emerge, as many in the Socialist party fear.Such worries will be playing on Sánchez's mind as he heads to the Nato summit in The Hague.Normally an assured presence on the international stage, he will arrive with serious doubts about his future and under mounting pressure to raise Spain's defence spending.Although his government has promised to increase military spending to 2% of economic output this year, it has been resisting calls from the United States and the Nato leadership to raise it further. Sánchez has now refused to accept a target of 5% of GDP for military spending, saying it "would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive".
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12 hours ago
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‘I don't want my training to go to waste': the Argentinian scientists working side jobs amid Milei's sweeping cuts
Leonardo Amarilla is desperate. The geneticist and PhD in biological sciences holds a coveted position as a full-time researcher at Argentina's prestigious national science council, Conicet, studying how to improve yields of crops such as peanuts, soya beans and sunflowers. But after President Javier Milei imposed sweeping austerity measures, known locally as his 'chainsaw' plan, Amarilla's salary plummeted and he found he could no longer afford basic groceries or support his ageing parents. In an effort to make ends meet, he signed up to drive for Uber, working four hours a day during the week and six on weekends. 'I'm working between 12 and 13 hours a day [overall],' he says. 'I'm exhausted. It affects the quality of my research, and my teaching. I used to get home and read scientific papers – now I go home and immediately head back out to drive passengers around.' Amarilla is far from alone. Faced with quickly falling salaries, many of Argentina's top scientists are abandoning research or taking on extra work – as ride-share drivers, food vendors, tutors or artisans. Since Milei took office in December 2023, Conicet salaries have lost nearly 35% of their purchasing power, according to a report by the Ibero-American Center for Research in Science, Technology and Innovation (CIICTI). Meanwhile, the government froze the hiring of 850 researchers who had already been approved under the previous administration. Other state scientific institutions, like the atomic commission or the agricultural institute, have also been targeted by the president's chainsaw measures. Milei, a self-styled 'anarcho-capitalist' and climate change denier, has targeted Argentina's public science institutions, viewing them as bloated and unnecessary. 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'I don't want my training to go to waste.' Last month, thousands of scientists dressed as the protagonist of Netflix's Argentinian hit series The Eternaut protested in front of the science ministry. The researchers, with their faces covered by the hero's signature gas mask, denounced a 'scienticide'. But not everybody could attend. In February, a Conicet and Buenos Aires University economic geographer, Jerónimo Montero, started a side job as an electrician to provide for his three kids, in what he calls 'a radical shift' in his life. 'I took the strike day to do an electricity job,' Montero says. 'It was really hard for me to know that my mates were struggling for better working conditions for everyone, including me, while I was passing cables through pipes.' Montero, who studied under the British Marxist geographer David Harvey and researched labour conditions in the garment sector, is paid about 1.5m pesos (US$1,243) a month. But the government's currency strategy, propping up the peso to slow inflation, has made Argentina the most expensive country in Latin America, according to a report by El País. For the public sector workers, real wages have sharply declined against inflation. According to CIICTI, more than 4,000 jobs have been lost across the national science sector since Milei took office. 'In 2024, resignations rose 33% compared to the previous year,' says Gonzalo Sanz Cerbino, a Conicet union representative. 'We're facing a brain drain. Those who don't move to the private sector are going to scientific institutions abroad – places that still value knowledge.' Last month, Córdoba University's bioinformatician and chemist Rodrigo Quiroga reluctantly began to consider leaving Argentina. At the Spanish consulate, where he applied for citizenship, he ran into two other researchers from his university, also preparing their exit. 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Publicly funded science, he says, plays a fundamental role because it is not commercially biased like the private their research, like Amarilla's, is threatened by a lack of basic lab supplies. 'Our cells need to be kept in liquid nitrogen, and we need carbon dioxide. If those aren't delivered, 20 years' worth of cell lines will die,' he says, adding that researchers are forced to use money from their own pockets or ask for donations from individuals, companies or non-profits to keep it going. 'That would be a tragedy.' Still, many scientists continue working out of sheer passion. 'We feign insanity,' Blaustein says wryly, quoting a popular Argentinian tongue-in-cheek phrase. 'Like the orchestra on the Titanic, we keep playing. We go to protests, we keep researching, because we love our work and believe it helps people. But we don't have enough budget to afford even the basics.'
The Guardian
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‘I don't want my training to go to waste': the Argentinian scientists working side jobs amid Milei's sweeping cuts
Leonardo Amarilla is desperate. The geneticist and PhD in biological sciences holds a coveted position as a full-time researcher at Argentina's prestigious national science council, Conicet, studying how to improve yields of crops such as peanuts, soya beans and sunflowers. But after President Javier Milei imposed sweeping austerity measures, known locally as his 'chainsaw' plan, Amarilla's salary plummeted and he found he could no longer afford basic groceries or support his ageing parents. In an effort to make ends meet, he signed up to drive for Uber, working four hours a day during the week and six on weekends. 'I'm working between 12 and 13 hours a day [overall],' he says. 'I'm exhausted. It affects the quality of my research, and my teaching. I used to get home and read scientific papers – now I go home and immediately head back out to drive passengers around.' Amarilla is far from alone. Faced with quickly falling salaries, many of Argentina's top scientists are abandoning research or taking on extra work – as ride-share drivers, food vendors, tutors or artisans. Since Milei took office in December 2023, Conicet salaries have lost nearly 35% of their purchasing power, according to a report by the Ibero-American Center for Research in Science, Technology and Innovation (CIICTI). Meanwhile, the government froze the hiring of 850 researchers who had already been approved under the previous administration. Other state scientific institutions, like the atomic commission or the agricultural institute, have also been targeted by the president's chainsaw measures. Milei, a self-styled 'anarcho-capitalist' and climate change denier, has targeted Argentina's public science institutions, viewing them as bloated and unnecessary. 'If you think your research is so useful,' he said in a 2024 speech, 'go to the market like any other citizen – publish a book and see if people are interested.' His administration's budget slashing has extended well beyond salaries. According to the UK's Inter-University Council, Milei's government has suspended contracts with academic publishing houses, in effect cutting off access to scientific journals; defunded all international cooperation programmes; and dismantled procurement systems for lab equipment and supplies. In Buenos Aires, cancer researcher Valeria – who asked that her surname not be published out of concern for colleagues – recently abandoned her research entirely. She had been studying a protein expressed in several cancers, hoping to inhibit it as a treatment. But her monthly salary of 950,000 pesos (US$787) no longer covered basic living costs. She now teaches high school biology, where she is paid more. 'I plan to resume my research in another country,' she says. 'I don't want my training to go to waste.' Last month, thousands of scientists dressed as the protagonist of Netflix's Argentinian hit series The Eternaut protested in front of the science ministry. The researchers, with their faces covered by the hero's signature gas mask, denounced a 'scienticide'. But not everybody could attend. In February, a Conicet and Buenos Aires University economic geographer, Jerónimo Montero, started a side job as an electrician to provide for his three kids, in what he calls 'a radical shift' in his life. 'I took the strike day to do an electricity job,' Montero says. 'It was really hard for me to know that my mates were struggling for better working conditions for everyone, including me, while I was passing cables through pipes.' Montero, who studied under the British Marxist geographer David Harvey and researched labour conditions in the garment sector, is paid about 1.5m pesos (US$1,243) a month. But the government's currency strategy, propping up the peso to slow inflation, has made Argentina the most expensive country in Latin America, according to a report by El País. For the public sector workers, real wages have sharply declined against inflation. According to CIICTI, more than 4,000 jobs have been lost across the national science sector since Milei took office. 'In 2024, resignations rose 33% compared to the previous year,' says Gonzalo Sanz Cerbino, a Conicet union representative. 'We're facing a brain drain. Those who don't move to the private sector are going to scientific institutions abroad – places that still value knowledge.' Last month, Córdoba University's bioinformatician and chemist Rodrigo Quiroga reluctantly began to consider leaving Argentina. At the Spanish consulate, where he applied for citizenship, he ran into two other researchers from his university, also preparing their exit. 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Publicly funded science, he says, plays a fundamental role because it is not commercially biased like the private their research, like Amarilla's, is threatened by a lack of basic lab supplies. 'Our cells need to be kept in liquid nitrogen, and we need carbon dioxide. If those aren't delivered, 20 years' worth of cell lines will die,' he says, adding that researchers are forced to use money from their own pockets or ask for donations from individuals, companies or non-profits to keep it going. 'That would be a tragedy.' Still, many scientists continue working out of sheer passion. 'We feign insanity,' Blaustein says wryly, quoting a popular Argentinian tongue-in-cheek phrase. 'Like the orchestra on the Titanic, we keep playing. We go to protests, we keep researching, because we love our work and believe it helps people. But we don't have enough budget to afford even the basics.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
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Spain's Socialist PM loses ally over sex harassment allegations
Pedro Sánchez, Spain's embattled prime minister, has suffered a blow in his attempt to draw a line under a corruption scandal after a new appointee resigned over sexual harassment allegations. Francisco Salazar, a close ally of Mr Sánchez, stepped back as a deputy in the organisation's secretariat and asked for the allegations to be investigated, the Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) said in a statement. The PSOE said it would begin an inquiry immediately, adding that no allegations had been made through its usual channels. The move came in response to a media report that Mr Salazar had made inappropriate sexual advances to a younger female member of staff for the PSOE. The woman, who has not been named, told the El Diario news outlet that Mr Salazar had made sexual comments and invited her to sleep at his house. News of the resignation came moments before Mr Sanchez was due to speak at his party HQ as he sought to assuage fears over sleaze. Speaking an hour later than scheduled, Mr Sanchez called for any woman suffering sexual abuse to use the channels provided by the party to report it. 'If we believe that a woman's body is not for sale, then there can be no room for behaviour that contradicts this belief,' he said, without mentioning Mr Salazar. The PSOE on Saturday named Rebeca Torro as Cerdan's replacement as secretary of organisation and two deputies. Salazar would have been the third deputy secretary. Mr Sanchez is coming under increased pressure after several senior figures in his party have been linked to a police corruption investigation. Santos Cerdán, the party secretary, resigned last month when the Spanish press reported that the police had evidence linking him to a scheme in which companies were charged in return for government contracts. The prime minister, who came to power in 2018, apologised to the public in the wake of the allegations, claiming he had been 'mistaken' to put his trust in Mr Cerdán. On Monday, a Supreme Court judge ordered that Mr Cerdán be held in pre-trial detention. He denies the allegations. José Luis Ábalos, a member of Mr Sanchez's cabinet up until 2021, is also at the centre of a graft investigation allegedly linking him to hundreds of thousands of euros in illicit payments. He has denied any wrongdoing Since 2023, Mr Sanchez has led a fragile minority government in which he relies on the support of the hard-Left and regionalist parties. In recent weeks, speculation has increased that the long-time prime minister has lost the support of his coalition and will have to call a snap election.
