Spain’s Pedro Sanchez says he will continue as prime minister after mulling exit

Spain's Pedro Sanchez on Monday (Apr 29) said he would stay on as prime minister of the nation "even with more strength". This comes days after Sanchez abruptly announced that he was considering his future following the launch of a corruption investigation against his wife. The Spanish PM also denounced the campaign as political harassment by the right.

Sanchez is in office since 2018. In a national broadcast, he said, "I have decided to go on, if possible even stronger as prime minister. This is not business as usual, things are going to be different."

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The 52-year-old Socialist leader had written a letter to the public on Wednesday telling that he was taking time to comtemplateresigning. It was after a Madrid court confirmed a preliminary probe into his wife Begona Gomez for suspected influence peddling and corruption.

Sanchez met King Felipe VI on Monday, which was seen as a step that would have been necessary should he have decided to resign. However, Sanchez announced that he had informed the monarch of his decision to stay on.

Sanchez said he needed "to stop and reflect" on the growing polarisation within politics which he said was increasingly being driven by "deliberate disinformation".

"For too long we've let this filth corrupt our political and public life with toxic methods that were unimaginable just a few years ago... Do we really want this for Spain?," he asked.

"I have acted out of a clear conviction: either we say 'enough is enough' or this degradation of public life will define our future and condemn us as a country."

The Spanish PM also said that he had been encouraged to stay by massive support over the weekend.

"Thanks to that social mobilisation, which has influenced my decision, I can tell you what I've already told our head of state: I've decided to stay and fight even harder as prime minister," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)