The Socialist International is going through one of the most uncomfortable periods in its recent history under the presidency of Pedro Sánchez. The organisation, which for decades presented itself as a global platform of social democratic parties committed to democracy, transparency and social justice, now appears tainted by the political erosion of its own president, who is under pressure from a succession of court cases, investigations and suspicions affecting his party, former aides, his family circle and key figures in Spanish socialism.
Sánchez is not a minor figure within that international structure. Since November 2022, he has chaired the Socialist International, a position he assumed while serving as secretary general of the PSOE and prime minister of Spain. The organisation itself continues to list him as president in its official Presidium, while the PSOE also highlights that role in his institutional profile. This dual status — head of the Spanish government and top official of an international political organisation — turns every scandal surrounding Spanish socialism into a problem that extends beyond Spain’s borders.
The most significant blow to his reputation arises from a contradiction that is hard to conceal: Sánchez took office in 2018 after a no-confidence motion against Mariano Rajoy, prompted specifically by the corruption scandals engulfing the People’s Party. He pledged democratic renewal. Yet, years later, his administration and his party face a series of investigations involving former high-ranking socialist figures, trusted advisers and individuals close to his inner circle. For his opponents, that promise of renewal has turned into a substantial political liability.
The so-called Koldo case, also known as the Ábalos case, was the first major blow to the heart of Sanchismo. The investigation into alleged irregular commissions in public contracts during the pandemic ended up affecting José Luis Ábalos, former transport minister and former PSOE organisation secretary, and Koldo García, his former adviser. Sánchez has tried to present the case as an isolated episode disconnected from the party’s current structure, but its political impact has been enormous because it involves people who held positions of maximum trust within his project.
The situation deteriorated further after the fall of Santos Cerdán, another key figure within Sánchez’s PSOE. Cerdán, who had been the party’s organisation secretary and one of the prime minister’s closest allies, was asked to step down, according to The Guardian, after a Supreme Court judge identified substantial signs suggesting his possible involvement in collecting commissions tied to public contracts, accusations he has rejected. The impact was particularly heavy because he was not a peripheral actor but a central organisational pillar of the party.
Added to this is the case involving Begoña Gómez, the prime minister’s wife, who is under investigation in a judicial proceeding that has brought a family dimension to Sánchez’s political wear. Euronews reported that Judge Juan Carlos Peinado placed her under investigation for alleged offences related to influence peddling, business corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation, in a case that the president’s circle has from the outset described as a political and judicial offensive. Whatever the outcome, the reputational damage has already been done: the president of the Socialist International is not only facing a crisis within his party, but also one that reaches into his family circle.
The deterioration has also spread to other fronts, such as the so-called Leire Díez case, which has reopened the debate over alleged manoeuvres to discredit investigators from the Guardia Civil’s Central Operational Unit. According to El País, the People’s Party has requested that senior Guardia Civil officials be placed under investigation for alleged interference in investigations affecting the government, within the framework of that case. Those accused deny taking part in any conspiracy, but the controversy has reinforced the perception that the executive is increasingly on the defensive in the face of uncomfortable investigations.
The problem for the Socialist International is clear. An organisation that seeks to lead the global defence of social democracy is weakened when its president is surrounded by a storm of national scandals. The issue is not only legal, but also moral and political. The Socialist International cannot demand institutional cleanliness, transparency and good governance in other countries while its highest-ranking leader is going through a credibility crisis of this magnitude in Spain.
The criticism does not come only from the Spanish opposition. Reproaches have also emerged from within the international environment of the socialist political family itself. Mexico’s PRI went so far as to accuse Sánchez of having turned the Socialist International into an organisation damaged by allegations of corruption and money laundering, according to Vozpópuli. These are political accusations and should be understood as such, but they reflect the extent to which Sánchez’s leadership within the organisation has ceased to be uncontested and is beginning to generate internal resistance.
The situation is particularly grave because the Socialist International had already been grappling with issues of relevance, identity and leadership before Sánchez stepped in. His presidency was intended to signal renewal, modernity and a revitalised progressive role on the global stage. Yet that expectation has given way to a far starker scenario: the organisation is now publicly associated with the decline of the PSOE, with the suspicions affecting the Spanish government, and with its president’s failure to distinguish his international duties from his own domestic turmoil.
The silence or timidity of the Socialist International in the face of this situation also raises uncomfortable questions. If a conservative or liberal leader chaired an international organisation while his party was surrounded by similar cases, the left would demand explanations, accountability and immediate exemplary conduct. Yet in Sánchez’s case, the organisation appears to choose a caution that critics interpret as political protection. That double standard further erodes the credibility of an institution that claims to defend universal democratic standards.
The paradox is stark: Sánchez aimed to use the Socialist International as a vehicle to boost his global stature, yet the PSOE’s internal scandals have ultimately seeped into that same institution. What was supposed to serve as a platform for international leadership has instead morphed into a mirror amplifying his domestic challenges. Every new probe, every resignation, and every hint of suspicion connected to Spanish socialism now echoes throughout the organisation he chairs.
The Socialist International has not faced any judicial conviction related to Sánchez’s scandals, yet it has been politically tainted by them. Its challenge goes beyond what might one day be confirmed in court, extending to a profound erosion of moral credibility. An organisation claiming to represent social democracy cannot allow itself to seem guided by a figure whose political sphere is enveloped in so many uncertainties.
That is why the current crisis does not affect only the Spanish government or the PSOE. It also affects the international credibility of organised socialism. The Socialist International will have to decide whether it acts as an institution with principles of its own or as a mere political refuge for leaders in trouble. Until it does so, it will remain trapped in the same question that now follows Pedro Sánchez: how can one demand exemplary conduct from the world when one’s own house is under suspicion?
