Alex Trelinski
THE SPANISH spouse of a former UK deputy Prime Minister has called for Spain to have a ‘code of ethics’ for politicians to avoid a repeat of the situation involving Pedro Sanchez and his wife, Begoña Gomez.
In an article for the Financial Times, Miriam Gonzalez, who is married to ex-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Nick Clegg, said there is ‘no effective system to deal with conflicts of interest of politicians’ families and spouses’.
“Thus, it is unavoidable that this issue ends up being played out in the political arena and the courts, rather than by way of a more low-key process, where it belongs,” Gonzalez wrote.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez was on the verge of quitting, he tells interviewers, as he lays out future plans after deciding to stay on
- Pedro Sanchez’s dramatic near-resignation pays off: Fresh poll shows the PM’s PSOE party is 10 points ahead of its rivals
- Spain’s Prosecutor’s Office calls for investigation into Pedro Sanchez’s wife to be scrapped
Miriam Gonzalez is a lawyer and founder of España Mejor– a politically non-aligned group that fights political disengagement and polarisation.
Her Financial Times column says the situation in the UK is different where partners of politicians- mainly women- have to put up with the ‘carnivorous British media’ and only get by if ‘they have the skins of rhinos’.
Gonzalez says the Sanchez-Gomez row that saw the PM threaten to resign over ‘far-right mud slinging’ was a first for Spain.
She argues that something like that would not have happened in the UK because ‘it would have been easily sorted out by the Office of Property and Ethics under the UK ministerial code of ethics’.
Gonzalez points out that Spain doesn’t have such a code and lags behind many other countries in that regard.
She states Spanish ministers have ‘no obligation not to knowingly lie’ in Congress, and there are no restrictions on political advisers and lobbyists, the use of homes and free travel, and no independent ethics adviser.
The lawyer points out that nothing has changed since Pedro Sanchez became Prime Minister in 2018 after ousting Mariano Rajoy of the Partido Popular.
In a major blast at the current government, Gonzalez concludes that the Sanchez record in the field of ethics after six years is ‘non-existent’.
