"The vast majority" of Spaniards "are watching in disbelief the latest spectacle that Mr. Sánchez has provoked" and that is causing Spain "international embarrassment", said Núñez Feijóo, in a statement at the headquarters of the Popular Party (PP, right wing).

For the PP, "everything seems to indicate" that Sánchez "has launched an operation for political survival", in the face of suspicions of corruption that affect the government, the party and the family of the socialist prime minister.

"He tries to mobilize people through compassion" and "takes the opportunity to intimidate judges and journalists", instead of giving "immediate explanations" about the alleged corruption cases, said Núñez Feijóo.

"It is an unacceptable frivolity", said the leader of the PP, the largest party in the current Spanish parliament.

Feijóo added that the "undeniable reality" is that a series of judicial investigations are underway that affect the government, the Spanish socialist party (PSOE) and Sánchez himself, who "suggests that the opposition is behind this".

"No, it is justice", said the president of the PP, who insisted that "in Spain no one is above the law".

For Feijóo, Sánchez may even remain in office or overcome a motion of confidence in parliament with the support of pro-independence parties, but "will only prolong his own agony".

The leader of the PP did not call for early elections or put forward any initiative on the part of the party, limiting himself to telling journalists that after the statement that Sánchez promised for Monday "he may answer more questions".

On Wednesday, Sánchez cancelled his agenda for the next few days and said that on Monday he will reveal whether he will continue to lead the government, after a judicial investigation involving his wife was made public, which the prime minister attributes to persecution and a campaign by the PP and Vox (far right).

In a text published on the social network X, Sánchez said he needed to "stop and reflect" to answer the question of whether he should and is worth continuing to lead the government "despite the quagmire that the right and the far right intend to transform politics into".

The prime minister, in office since 2018, and leader of the PSOE said that he and his wife have been victims of the PP and Vox's "mud machine" for months, that "falsehoods" are at stake and that Begoña Gómez "will defend her honour and collaborate with justice", accusing the two parties of "an operation of personal harassment and destruction" because they do not accept the results of the last elections and realized that "the political attack would not be enough".

A Madrid court confirmed on Wednesday the opening of a "preliminary inquiry" involving Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged influence peddling and corruption, following a complaint by the association "Clean Hands", associated with the far right.

At issue, according to the online newspaper El Confidencial, are alleged links between Begoña Gómez and private companies, such as the airline Air Europa, which received public support during the pandemic crisis or signed contracts with the State when Sánchez was already prime minister.

In addition to this suspicion involving his wife, Sánchez has been attacked because of a judicial investigation into an aide to a former socialist minister who allegedly charged illegal commissions for selling masks during the pandemic to public entities, including regional governments then in the hands of the PSOE.

This case led to the creation of parliamentary committees of inquiry, supported by the socialists, on the purchase of health supplies by public administrations during the covid-19 crisis. The work of these committees began this week.

Leia Também: Sánchez ameaça demitir-se, mas Espanha não pode ter eleições já. Entenda (Portuguese version)