Spain's toxic twosome

The wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has been banned from leaving the country, a judge ruled on Saturday.

Begoña Gomez is under investigation over allegations she used her position as the prime minister's wife to secure work contracts. She denies any wrongdoing. The case was brought by far-right groups.

Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to surrender her passport, barred her from leaving Spain and required her to report to court twice a month.

The case is one of several corruption probes nearing or already at trial that are weighing on Sanchez, one of Europe's few remaining leftist leaders. He has not been named in any of the cases and has said they are part of a campaign to remove him from office.

The Socialist party quickly reacted to the judge's ruling, posting on social media X: "(Begoña) has been subjected to judicial and political persecution for two years. Today's development is another step in that process."

Several close allies, including the Socialist party's number three and Sanchez's former transport minister, are under investigation in cases involving alleged kickbacks linked to public works, oil and gas contracts, and the procurement of masks during the pandemic. They deny wrongdoing.

Separately, Spain's High Court said it was investigating former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero over allegations he led a network that profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties, including airline Plus Ultra. He denies the claims.

Pedro Sanchez, deeply unpopular at home, has displayed hostile positions toward Israel for years, and more recently toward the United States as well. This stance has drawn sharp criticism from most European leaders.