The head of government and Secretary General of the Socialist Workers’ Party, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed that he bears the “fault” in the “first person” of the Socialist Workers’ Party in the face of complaints against Francisco Salazar on his anti-harassment channel, which was short-circuited, as revealed by elDiario.es last Monday. He denied that it was “intentional” or that Salazar was protected by training.
In an informal conversation with reporters at the conclusion of the Constitution Commemoration Ceremony, Sánchez spoke for the first time about Salazar’s accusations of sexual harassment of two socialist activists who worked with him and offered to help the party if they decided to bring their complaints to justice.
Within five months, neither complainant received any response from their party. In fact, their complaints about the system disappeared. The SWP admits that this investigation was never carried out, and both books were accepted for treatment only after this newspaper reported on the situation and approved the existing complaints.
The president also denied having any knowledge of the sexually harassing behavior described in the complaints, which women in his charge were allegedly subjected to at La Moncloa, where Salazar held several advisory positions in the presidency during the Sánchez era. In fact, he claims to have learned about it from the press when the first testimonies appeared.
Sanchez stressed that there has been an anti-harassment protocol at the Prime Minister’s Office since 2018 and he has not received any complaints. The complainants chose to use the internal channel opened by the party to present their cases.
He points out that the Socialist leader was also against submitting these internal complaints to the Public Prosecutor’s Office because they were submitted anonymously, so it would be the victims who would have to take this step. He stressed that the Socialist Workers Party would of course provide them with help and support if they went to court.
Sánchez explained that the PSOE launched an anti-harassment protocol in May, so it has only been in place for a few months. He believes there is a lack of resources in the anti-harassment office that handles complaints, but defends that it is still within the deadline. He emphasizes that this body operates independently and without interference from the party leadership. He defends that it is the only party in Spain that has internal regulations of this kind and rejects the lessons of the opposition.
In the same vein, María Jesús Montero admitted that her party “mismanaged” the Salazar scandal. “The matter was left in the hands of the legal services, and we should have been at the forefront. The truth is that we did not accompany the girls properly,” the First Vice President said in an informal conversation with reporters.