💥 Is this the end of Pedro Sánchez?
Plus: Anti-tourism marches spread and 'La Familia de la Tele' is canceled.
Madrid | Issue #107
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Don Teflón no more?
💣 The explosive scandal that could take down Pedro Sánchez
Breaking news. Just as we hit ‘send’ on our newsletter last Thursday, Spain’s Guardia Civil dropped a political bomb: a report implicating PSOE MP Santos Cerdán in a major kickbacks scandal. How big? So big it could take down Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The evidence? Taped conversations about €620,000 in alleged bribes, shady contracts, and possible ballot-stuffing in the primaries that brought Sánchez to power.
Why is Cerdán relevant? Until last week, Cerdán did not just have a seat in Parliament, he was also Sánchez’s right-hand man: as the PSOE’s Secretary of Organization, the party’s third highest-ranking member after Sánchez and Deputy PM María Jesús Montero, he handled everything from negotiating deals with Catalan separatist boss Carles Puigdemont to managing the party machine.
More Koldo fun! The bombshell revelation was the latest in a long list of explosive allegations in the infamous Koldo Case, the case that took down Sánchez’s last PSOE #3 and right-hand man, former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos.
Koldo Case recap. Because at this point this has more twists and turns than a Dan Brown novel, here’s a refresher:
Naughty boy. The scandal (which we've covered like a telenovela) started when Koldo García, an advisor to Ábalos, was arrested for allegedly taking bribes tied to COVID mask contracts. His business partner, Víctor de Aldama, who allegedly had someone drop €90,000 in cash at PSOE HQ, then got nailed for a €182m fuel tax scam. And in trying to save himself, he implicated… everyone. Including Cerdán.
We know NOTHING. Cerdán (and the PSOE) denied everything, until it turned out Koldo had taped their conversations. For years. And last week, the audios all came to light, making everyone sound corrupt, stupid, or both.
Still with us? Good. Things were already bad for the government this month. Remember the “plumber” scandal and the likely indictment of the Attorney General? This all happened in the last three weeks. But it all paled in comparison to this. This case has it all: bribery, ballot-stuffing, shady contracts, secret recordings, sex workers (yep, more on that below). If House of Cards: Moncloa isn’t already in production, someone’s asleep at Netflix. (And we’re available!)
Not a good look. The report, now with the Supreme Court, includes transcripts of Ábalos, Koldo, and Cerdán allegedly coordinating contract rigging - and one 2014 message where Cerdán tells Koldo to submit two extra ballots “without anyone seeing you” during the primaries that brought Sánchez to power. (Two votes? No biggie. But the optics? Brutal.) Investigators paint Cerdán as Koldo’s longtime boss and the ringleader of the whole scheme.
Goes around, comes around. This is devastating for Sánchez, who came to power under an anti-corruption banner in 2018 after leading a successful motion of censure against then-PM Mariano Rajoy because Rajoy’s party (the center-right PP) was caught in a big corruption scandal itself.
PS Goodbye. Cerdán (who to this day maintains his innocence) tendered his resignation from the PSOE leadership and said he would give up his seat in Parliament so he could “focus fully on his legal defense”. 🫠
Clear the water. Later Thursday, a defeated-looking Sánchez gave a press conference from the PSOE headquarters (the first in PSOE HQ since 2018 in an effort to make it look like this crisis was about the party and not, you know, the government).
Sorry, Spain. Sánchez opened with an apology to the Spanish people (very kind of him), claiming he honestly knew nothing at all about the corruption going on around him and had believed in Cerdán’s integrity until “that very morning”. (El País columnist Victor Lapuente took up this point, noting that the most charitable judgement on Sánchez is that, considering his last two PSOE right-hand men are awash in corruption charges, he is just a royally shit judge of character.)
Can we please move on? Like a boyfriend trying to be (a little) better, Sánchez offered a cheap gift to calm things. That is, he announced an external audit of the party’s finances and a restructuring of the PSOE’s leadership. But despite calls for early elections from the center-right PP - and leaders in his own party - he ruled out making major changes. Because the PP would win and form a government with far-right Vox, and that would be the worst thing in the world, etc., etc.
Everyone mad. As the PSOE scrambled to contain the fallout, the rest of Spain lost it.
PP boss Alberto Núñez Feijóo called the PM’s press conference “insufficient”: “It seems they started stealing in the primaries and haven’t stopped since.”
Vox, always mad as hell, called for a demonstration outside the PSOE HQ to ask for Sánchez’s immediate resignation, and called for a motion of censure. It didn’t take, but not much Vox tries does.
The kids. The government’s junior allies flailed. Far-left Podemos said the PM was no longer fit to lead. The others mostly ducked for cover and hoped it would all blow over.
Best defense? Offense. Sánchez fired back with one of his signature open letters - on X, of course - saying he was staying put and shifting focus to the real problem: people on the right being mean to him.
Be scared of the right! He invoked his government’s progressive wins and urged the party to “keep going” through the storm. He also accused PP and Vox of trying to take him down “at any cost,” and dared them to try a new censure vote.
Not helping. Shockingly, this did not calm anyone down. Which brings us to: Parliament. Yesterday’s session was pandemonium, and Sánchez faced fire from all sides.
Whataboutism. Sánchez lashed out at the PP with
a whataboutism marathona barrage of counter-accusations. In response to Feijóo’s claim that Sánchez was warned “months ago” about Cerdán and that he now leads “a pack of wolves,” the PM dodged and hit back with the PP’s corruption record instead.Freudian slip. Then, as he was trying to speak over deafening shouts and disorder, Sánchez blurted out that the PSOE had “absolute tolerance with corruption.” 🫢 (He corrected himself.)
Triggered. Things got worse when MP Gabriel Rufián of the leftish Catalan separatist party ERC, asked Sánchez to “swear” this wasn’t the PSOE’s “Gurtel case” (the corruption scandal that brought down PM Rajoy). The PM, furious that a supposed ally would go there, erupted in anger, insisting that “the left does not steal” 😂. (He also wasn’t happy that Rufián mocked his statement that the PSOE expelled corrupt members when it discovered them, noting that it was the UCO that had discovered Cerdán.)
Third panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights. The session ended in yelling, sarcastic ovations, and Vox hurling insults from the back benches. Weeeeeee!
So what now? Good lord, we don’t know! But seriously, there are two main reasons for the PSOE’s partners to keep the government going until mandatory 2027 elections, and one big reason for them not to.
Survival. If elections happen now, PSOE and coalition partner Sumar get absolutely destroyed. A PP-Vox government is almost guaranteed. Hold on until 2027 and hope the world changes? Maybe! 🤷♀️
Money 🤑. Sánchez has offered Catalan separatists Junts and ERC piles of money and power if they support him. With PP-Vox? They know they probably get nada.
Rip the band-aid off. On the other side, some regional PSOE leaders (and small party PSOE allies) want the national party to take the hit now so that when regional elections roll around in 2027, they won’t get dragged down. Plus, a bunch of them (like the Castilla La Mancha leader Emiliano García-Page) don’t really like Sánchez much and are gunning for his job.
In the end… Early elections seem likely, but probably not announced just yet. It will be hard for Sánchez to pass anything (not least, a budget) with allies who loathe to be seen with him. As in, some parties agreed to meet with him to hear his plea for support, but reportedly demanded that there be no photos.
Important note. There is still no direct evidence that Sánchez himself knew or participated in the corruption. But… this is just getting started.
More news below. 👇👇
✅ Can you answer this one question?
💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties
1. 🔫 Tourists Go Home II: The Pistols Are Wetter Than Ever
Sun, sand and people telling you to get the hell out. That’s how a year ago we described the new rite of summer that is tourists flooding Barcelona and irritated locals protesting by dousing them with water pistols. Well, the sequel to last year’s hit opened on Sunday and, while it had a smaller premiere in Barcelona, it played in more theaters - and got a lot more press.
The big reveal. Under the usual (and yes, amusing) slogans - “Tourists Go Home,” “Stop Brunch” - this year’s protests were coordinated by the Barcelona-based Trobada sud d’Europa contra la turistització. Demonstrations spread from Barcelona to Mallorca, San Sebastián, Lisbon, Venice, Genoa… and more.
Turnout. Barcelona’s turnout was smaller - 600 (says police) or 3,000 (say organizers), vs. 2,800/20,000 last year (we again lament: why can’t anyone count? Oh, right…politics). Mallorca drew the biggest crowd: 8,000.
Hottest protest accessories. The water pistol returned as protest star - targeting hostels, restaurants, and the tourists who love them. It debuted in Barcelona, but this year Mallorca joined the fun! 👏
Tourism = big. Housing = worse. We won’t bore you with stats, except to say: tourism is huge, housing is awful, and all the old food shops now sell bubble tea.
Fine, you want a number? Barcelona got 15.6m visitors in 2024, about the same in 2023. Tourism = about 14% of the local economy.
Here’s something fun. What we have our eye on as the breakout fashion for this tourist protest season is the water pistol, and to that end we would like to pay tribute to those who conceived of its “anti-tourist” use.
Like all good things, it started as a joke. “What happened later went viral, but in reality it was just kind of a joke by a group of people who brought water guns because it was hot,” Adriana Coten, an organizer of Barcelona’s Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth, told the Associated Press.
Go with what feels good! The guns came back in April, when the group stopped a tour bus in Barcelona. And this year, the group and its figurehead Daniel Pardo brought out piles of water pistols for the protestors.
Not everybody loves the feeling, though. Tempers flared when marchers arrived at the Generator Hostel, tossed smoke bombs, covered the front door with red and white safety tape, and squirted workers. One worker grabbed a pistol and shot back. A scuffle broke out.
Great replacement theory. The protest ended short of the Sagrada Familia, but not before the Degrowth group read a manifesto claiming locals were being evicted in “a savage attempt to replace the population.” A little too Elon Musk for our taste, but whatevs.
At least the Americans are happy. "That's lovely, thank you sweetheart," said one American woman as she got sprayed. "I am not going to complain. These people are feeling something to them that is very personal, and is perhaps destroying some areas (of the city)." Honestly? She got it.
2.🕯️ Remember the blackout? We know who’s at fault…sorta
Forty-nine days later. Seven weeks after a historic blackout plunged Spain into darkness - triggering a societal collapse not seen since The Last of Us 🧟… Oh, wait, there was no collapse. But anyway, 49 days after the massive blackout unleashed waves of public acoustic guitar jamming, the government has released the results of an investigation into the cause. And they nailed the culprit. It’s…
Everybody and nobody. Yup. That was the verdict from
Ecological TransitionEnergy Minister Sara Aagesen at Tuesday’s press briefing.But who’s to blame? Aagesen mostly blamed Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica (REE), with a little side smack for the country’s power generators.
Uncontrolled surge! ⚡ According to Aagesen, a surge in the grid wasn’t properly contained, ultimately bringing down the entire system. In an electricity grid, supply and demand have to match exactly. So if you’re short of power, you have to produce more, and if you have a surge, you have to absorb it. (We’re not electrical engineers, so please don’t sue us - but we think that’s right.)
REE bad. The blackout happened, Aagesen suggested, because REE hadn’t planned correctly. Specifically, REE was supposed to have 10 conventional plants (like nuclear or gas) available to absorb surges. But when one called the night before to say it would be offline, REE didn’t line up a replacement. “They did the math and saw it wasn’t necessary,” Aagesen said. Whoops! 😳
Power companies too. So, the day of the blackout, the grid had its yearly low capacity to absorb surges. But the power companies (unnamed, but we all know it’s Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy and EDP), also played a part, Aagesen said: They did not absorb the “reactive power” they were expected - and paid - to handle. (You will not be surprised that REE fully blames the generators.)
Then it happened. The surge went uncontained, plants began disconnecting from the grid, and the whole thing collapsed. Remember?
This is all rather vague. So why no names of REE execs or specific power companies? Aagesen blamed “multiple causes” - and lawsuits are looming (Remember those 35,000 people stranded on trains?).
Sudden urgency. Back in May, Aagesen said the report would be ready by August. But last weekend, it seems, things got urgent, and the blackout committee met Friday, Sunday and Monday. So why the sudden rush?
Well… Who are we to say, but El País noted (with eyebrow fully raised), that the urgency to finish the report “coincided” with the release of corruption-related recordings implicating Santos Cerdán, the PSOE’s former #3. (See above.) As in, did the government rush the report to change the subject? We would normally say this was just speculation, but coming from the usually PSOE-friendly El País…🤔
At least it’s not the Russians 🇷🇺, right? The report said that there were no indications that a cyberattack caused the blackout, but the system has weaknesses. So maybe next time? 🤷♂️
3. 📺 RTVE cancels ‘La Familia de la Tele’ just 7 weeks after launch
It’s over. One of RTVE’s boldest gambles of the year has come to an unceremonious end. La Familia de la Tele, the public network’s flashy new afternoon variety show meant to capture the scandalicious ethos of Sálvame, aired its final episode yesterday -just seven weeks after its premiere.
Surprise! The announcement came live during Tuesday’s broadcast, catching even regular viewers (all four of them!) off guard.
Barely knew ya. The show, launched May 6, was hosted by former trash TV queen and current Gen Z darling María Patiño, along with Aitor Albizua and Inés Hernand. (If you don’t know them, you’re not from here.)
The show was weird from the start, torn between trying to be a squeaky-clean current affairs magazine and a neutered version of Sálvame, a trashy talk show that aired between 2009 and 2023. In the end, despite the self-awareness, it was neither.
Ride the fame. They tried to bank on the viral second life of Sálvame stars like Belén Esteban, Lydia Lozano, and Kiko Matamoros. But their brand of chaotic, low-rent brilliance didn’t translate well to the sanitized world of public TV.
Low class. For years, the Spanish intelligentsia mocked Sálvame as Spain’s answer to TMZ meets Jerry Springer. But after it went off air, younger fans rediscovered its cast through ironic memes and a wave of post-trash nostalgia. So much so that Netflix gave them a reunion reality show (Fame after Fame) and they scored a modest hit with a YouTube/Canal Quickie reboot called Ni que fuéramos Shhh.
But La Familia de la Tele never found its voice. It launched with a massive set and blocky structure, which was quickly simplified as ratings sank to just a 4.3% share - about 309,000 viewers. 😢
Not ourselves. Weeks ago, the cast admitted they didn’t feel comfortable with the format because they were not “themselves” with the vanilla, tabloid-style content. On Tuesday, Albizua didn’t hold back: “We’ve tried everything, but it didn’t work.”
Tortura. Matamoros called it a “daily psychological torture,” thanks to constant format changes and ratings doom. Esteban, ever the pro, promised they’d be back, calling the goodbye an “until next time.”
Pricey! The show reportedly cost RTVE around €5m, making it one of the most expensive short-lived flops in the network’s history.
They will all live on in our hearts. And in the memes.
4. 👯 A PSOE ex-#3, a former porn star, and a hard drive walk into a bar…
What’s a scandal without sex? Amid Spain’s ongoing corruption meltdown, it emerged yesterday that former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos - the other PSOE #3 kicked out over corruption - allegedly tried to have a ex-porn star friend sneak a hard drive out of his house while the police were searching it.
Seriously? Yes. It happened on June 10, when the Guardia Civil’s elite UCO unit served a warrant to search Ábalos’s Valencia abode. The former Transport Minister, in an Orlando t-shirt, met them at the door. Also present: a blonde woman named Anaís D.G.
Nice try. During the search, Ábalos asked the police if Anaís could take the dog for a walk. At that moment, one of the officers observed the ex-minister telling the woman to take something for breakfast, after which she headed to one of the bedrooms.
Not tricky enough. As the woman was about to leave, the Civil Guard officer noticed that she appeared to be hiding something in her pants, so he searched her and found a hard drive, which they seized. The woman then left. Whoops! 🫣
Now things got interesting. Turns out that the woman, 32, had worked in the porn industry under the name Letizia Hilton, because of course she followed porn naming tradition of combining royalty + hotel (and because she looks a bit like Paris Hilton).
Not a long career. Letizia Hilton had worked with Spanish porn star Jordi el Niño Polla (who is famous enough to have an IMDB page), but left the business a while back after reporting abuse, and later worked as an escort. Grim.
It gets worse. This would just be mildly salacious except for the fact that there are taped conversation between Ábalos and Koldo García (one of his “advisors” who’s involved in the Koldo case we mentioned above) talking about how they’d divvy up prostitutes (Ábalos is apparently partial to Ariadna and Carlota). So, not a guy who’s, like, super-respectful to women.
And that’s just one drive. Besides the drive Letizia Hilton tried to smuggle, the police confiscated five other hard drives, three mobile phones, one tablet, one telephone SIM card, two SD memory cards and 22 USB drives.
Let the leaks begin!
5. 🦋 Polillas attack! Massive moth infestation leaves Spain scrambling for its bible (and TikTok)
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In what is clearly a sign of the apocalypse, a massive infestation of giant moths has left Spaniards searching for explanations - and for our cell phones, so we can film it for the TikToks.
Blame the rain. Spring downpours hit Spain and the Maghreb (wettest in 50 years), causing vegetation - and moth eggs - to boom. Then came a heat wave. Cue mass birth. Cue mass reproduction. Cue chaos.
Listen to the scientist. "Normally, these insects gradually hatch throughout the spring, but this year, after a relatively cool and wet season, the sudden arrival of warm weather has caused these animals to suddenly appear," biologist Andreu García tells El Periódico.
But they’re so BIG! They’re huge. People are freaking out because some of these nocturnal fliers are the size of hummingbirds. Not metaphorically. Literally.
The culprits. Hyles livornica (6–8 cm) and Autographa gamma (3–4.5 cm), migratory moths from North Africa. And they make quite the effort to get to Europe.
Listen to the scientist, pt. 2. "These migrations occur in stages,” Constantí Stefanescu, a researcher at the Granollers Natural Science Museum, tells La Vanguardia. “That is, first, a group of butterflies born in the Maghreb arrives and reproduces here. The adults die, and the offspring migrate to northern Europe."
Anything to worry about? Yes, they are known to suck the blood of cattle until they are dry husks, and have done the same to human babies. Kidding! NO THEY DON’T. But they do pollinate flowers (which is nice) and eat holes in your clothing (which is not). So maybe lay out lavender and other scents they don’t like, okay?
tl;dr Chill about the moths, okay? You’ll live.
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…unless they look like sharks. Then panic and run for your life.
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