Spain’s prime minister faces difficult week as wife and ex-PM summoned before judges

Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, charged and predecessor José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero investigated over offences including influence peddling Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is facing one of the longest and most difficult weeks of his premiership as his wife and his fellow socialist predecessor prepare to appear before judges investigating them for alleged influence peddling and other offences. Sánchez, who came to power in 2018 by promising to end the corruption that had mired the ruling conservative People’s party (PP), has found his family, his party and his administration engulfed by a series of scandals. His wife, Begoña Gómez, has been summoned to court on Monday afternoon by a judge who has charged her with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds at the end of a two-year investigation. She has been accused of using her influence as the spouse of the prime minister to secure and manage a post at Madrid’s Complutense University, and of using public resources and personal connections to further her private interests. The judge, Juan Carlos Peinado, has also charged Gómez’s personal assistant,