National
Pablo Iglesias faces opposition calls to quit power over 'scandals'
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Two high-profile investigations are under way into coalition partners Unidas Podemos, but this party claims it is all political conspiracy
Opposition parties are increasingly calling for the resignation of second Deputy Prime Minister, Pablo Iglesias, as his party, Unidas Podemos (UP), becomes mired in legal disputes.
Radical left-wing UP is the minority coalition partner with the PSOE Socialists and this week government spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, PSOE, defended the unity of the coalition, "This is a strong and cohesive government," she said.
Two legal fronts against UP have emerged in recent weeks. Most recently, courts started investigating allegedly opaque financial accounts and overpayments. Three party directors are being formally investigated although the UP has officially complained and says the investigating judge is acting in bad faith.
According to UP, the case is a political persecution organised by right-wing Vox, "It's more than clear there's political interest behind it, a no-confidence vote that needs its salad dressing," said UP's Rafa Mayoral, adding that the aim behind it was "to get Podemos out of government".
In addition to possible illegal financing, another judge is looking into accusations surrounding the lost mobile phone of a colleague of UP's Iglesias. In a complex storyline with several twists, the phone was supposedly found, compromising content not returned, then returned, a memory card copy of its contents hidden and another copy destroyed before it could reach investigators.
The conservative PP party said this week that they thought Pablo Iglesia's "time was up" and other parties called for a statement to parliament.
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