Madrid, Jun 22 (EFE).- The 24-year and three-month prison sentence handed down by Spain’s Supreme Court to José Luis Ábalos, former Minister of Transportation of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, shook Spain’s turbulent political scene on Monday, sparking calls for elections and a purge within the Socialist Party.
Ábalos, who also served as secretary-general of the Socialist Party under Pedro Sánchez’s leadership and has been in pretrial detention since late 2025, was not the only one convicted in the case involving kickbacks on public contracts for face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Koldo García, a former advisor to the former Minister of Transportation, was sentenced to 19 years and eight months in prison.
The middleman Víctor de Aldama, who, according to the court, provided “truthful and relevant” information during the investigation, received a four-and-a-half-year sentence that was suspended on the condition that he does not reoffend, submits a semi-annual activity report, and completes one year of community service.
Resignation, Elections, and “Disappointment”
After the verdict was announced, the president of the conservative People’s Party and leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, argued that the conviction of Ábalos is a judgment on Pedro Sanchéz’s government, and urged the Spanish PM to assume his “political responsibilities” and step aside.
“The only way out of this crisis is to call for general elections immediately,” demanded Feijóo.
The far-right Vox party also renewed its call for Sánchez’s immediate resignation, urging the People’s Party to file a motion of no confidence.
The PP president, however, said he would not make the mistake of filing a motion without sufficient support and shifted the focus to the government and its parliamentary partners to force the PM to call for elections.
Sumar, the alliance of left-wing parties governing in coalition with the PSOE, applauded the “forcefulness” with which the courts handed down their verdict against Ábalos and Koldo García, though it also lamented that “habitual fraudsters and corrupt officials get off scot-free,” referring to businessman Víctor de Aldama and companies such as Ferrovial, OHL, Endesa, and Acciona.
The ERC, the Catalan pro-independence party that typically supports the government in parliament, has called on the PSOE to “clean house” following this conviction.
Podemos, the left-wing party that governed alongside Sánchez in the previous legislative term (2020-2023), has spoken of “enormous disappointment” with the Socialist Party.
Reaction from the Government and the PSOE
Government sources reaffirmed on Monday their commitment to continuing the fight against corruption and condemned behavior that strays from the values that should govern public service.
Óscar Puente, the current Minister of Transportation, also commented on a “tremendously sobering” ruling that convicted Ábalos while granting a “pardon” to the lobbyist Aldama.
“Do you see, kids? If you commit crimes but then behave yourself and ‘cooperate,’ forgiveness will prevail, and as long as you submit a little report on nothing, you won’t even go to prison. It’s a tremendously instructive ruling,” Puente wrote on X, referring to the semi-annual activity report and the year of community service that the Supreme Court has imposed on Aldama to avoid prison.
Meanwhile, the Socialist Party said “The courts have spoken, and their rulings must be respected and upheld,” emphasizing that the party’s position has been “clear from the very start: zero tolerance for corruption, full cooperation with the courts, and the strongest possible response to any irregular behavior.” EFE
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