Photo: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons
Always keen to be at the forefront of Europe’s criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has travelled to Turkey today, May 23rd, where he and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will likely pat each other on the back for supporting the wider recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Socialist leader is never shy when it comes to bashing Israel, and even received praise from Hamas shortly after October 7th when he started being more vocal about a Palestinian state. But he is likely to be especially pleased about the distraction from national politics this week, given a judge’s decision on Thursday to send David Sánchez—the prime minister’s brother—to trial for corruption.
Tax investigators have been scratching their heads for some time to understand how David came to acquire €1.7 million worth of assets. Unfortunately for Pedro, Spanish newspapers are today far more interested in this affair than in his visit to the Arab world.
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares has gloated that “no one does as much for peace in the Middle East as Spain.” Unsurprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the situation differently and has long accused Sánchez and his government of supporting terrorism.
Sánchez now reportedly hopes to become a mediator between Europe and the Arab world and is building on his and Erdoğan’s shared views surrounding Palestine to achieve this role. This has prompted criticism at home, including from Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who said the prime minister was using the Gaza situation in “his favour” to distract from domestic troubles.
Likewise, the Socialist was the only European leader to attend the 2025 Arab League summit in Baghdad last week, where he announced that Spain would raise two new anti-Israeli proposals at the next United Nations General Assembly meeting.