Podemos in firing line over harassment claims

The Podemos party has once again become embroiled in a scandal of reportedly keeping quiet about sexual harassment within its ranks. The left-wing party, which has made the defence of feminism and the protection of women from abuse part of its identity, admitted that it had removed Juan Carlos Monedero from his frontline duties in 2023 once it became aware of accusations against him of inappropriate behaviour.

However, faced with accusations of a cover-up in not making its action public, current party leader Ione Belarra said no further action had been taken at the time "in order to respect the wishes" of the alleged victims.

Juan Carlos Monedero has been the subject of a media frenzy in the past week after allegations of harassment of women emerged, including from a student at Madrid's Complutense university where he teaches.