Young left-wing star resigns: harassment scandal shakes left-wing government in Spain

Spain’s left-wing government is rocked by a harassment scandal. Several women accuse the spokesman for coalition junior partner Sumar, Iñigo Errejón, of sexual assault. Errejón resigned from all party positions and his parliamentary seat and also announced his withdrawal from politics. The 40-year-old admitted to “unacceptable” behavior, the party said. The state TV broadcaster RTVE spoke of a “political bomb”.

The opposition is calling for further resignations

Politicians from the conservative People’s Party (PP) used the affair to attack the entire government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez: the affair proves that the government’s feminist policies are “hypocritical” and a “farce”. The PP spokeswoman in the Senate, Alicia García, accused Sumar and Sánchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) of having known about Errejón’s behavior for a long time and of having agreed on a “pact of silence.” PP spokesman Miguel Tellado called for resignations.

The government, which is also confronted with allegations of corruption, is ailing, RTVE analyzed. Sánchez reiterated on X that his government was working “for a feminist Spain.” “I condemn everyone who attacks this project of equality. All my support for the women who suffer from harassment and abuse,” he emphasized.

Well-known actress among alleged victims

The scandal broke out after a revelation by a journalist on Thursday and quickly escalated with new accusations. The alleged victims include the actress and TV presenter Elisa Mouiláa, well-known in Spain, who accused Errejón on X and also filed a complaint.

Errejón was seen as the hope of the left in Spain. With him, the last founding member of Podemos, which began as a protest movement in the midst of the euro crisis in 2011 and became a party in 2014, is leaving the political stage.