The former Socialist leader attended Santos Cerdán’s second appearance before the Senate Commission of Inquiry on December 17, accompanied only by his lawyer, barely a month after he left prison after spending five months deprived of his freedom for his involvement in an alleged corruption plot in the so-called “Koldo case.” In this context, Cerdán denounced an “inquisitorial persecution” and suggested the existence of fake evidence against him. This appearance was different from the first appearance on April 30, 2024, where he was supported by a large group of socialist senators. The evolution of the Commission, which has already included 56 meetings in two years of work, has transformed the parliamentary forum into an arena of intense political confrontation. According to Europa Press, the interrogations of figures such as the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, were points of great interest.
The summons of Pedro Sánchez on October 30 caused great expectations inside and outside the upper house. For the first time this year, the chief executive took questions from senators in a meeting that lasted more than five hours and was attended by 270 accredited journalists. According to Europa Press, Sánchez defended the cleanliness of the primaries he won to lead the PSOE in 2017 and admitted receiving cash payments from the party, but denied any perception of bonuses or the existence of irregular funding. In his speech, he described the Commission as a “circus” and expressed that the Popular Party had turned senatorial activity into a “swamp”, and also showed his dissatisfaction with the way his questioning was conducted, led mainly by the spokesman of the PP, Alejo Miranda. Beyond his statements, the session was characterized by the comments generated around the glasses used by Sánchez, a phenomenon that has been widely commented on on social networks and in the media.
The commission, commonly known as the Koldo Commission, which meets in the Clara Campoamor Hall of the Senate, includes a wide range of high-ranking civil servants and administrators, as well as executives of companies allegedly linked to the corruption plot being investigated. According to Europa Press, active ministers such as Ángel Víctor Torres, who has four summonses, Óscar Puente and Óscar López, have passed through the room; Former ministers such as Reyes Maroto and Teresa Ribera, as well as officials of institutions such as the President of the Congress, Francina Armengol, and the President of Navarre, María Chivite, also testified. In this context, Ana Pardo de Vera, former president of the Railway Infrastructure Administration (ADIF), as well as officials of the autonomous governments of the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Navarre, as well as employees of companies such as Ineco and Tragsatec, responded to the Forum’s interviews.
One of the most infamous incidents occurred when Patricia Uriz, ex-partner of former ministerial adviser Koldo García, showed up covering part of her face with a scarf and wearing sunglasses. This appearance prompted Senator María Mar Caballero to request verification of her identity. After a short break in the meeting, the Commission’s lawyer confirmed that the person who appeared was Uriz. The organization’s president, Eloy Suárez Lamata, told the forum that the identification was carried out at the entrance to the Upper House.
Europa Press reported that work remains open 20 months after the Commission of Inquiry began in April 2024 and is expected to continue throughout the legislative period. The evaluations of the results of the forum reveal contradictory positions between the factions. Sources from the Popular Party, quoted by Europa Press, describe the year 2025 as a “total success” for the Commission, arguing that its investigations have made it possible to uncover fraudulent practices, as in the case of the alleged irregularities related to the nieces of former minister José Luis Ábalos, as well as the financial situation of Vicente Fernández, former president of the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI). In the PP they assure that the Commission will not conclude until all aspects of the actions under investigation have been clarified and the relevant responsibilities have been assumed, emphasizing that parliamentary rules allow the work to be extended throughout the legislative period.
In contrast, the Commission’s Socialist spokesman Alfonso Gil told Europa Press that the PP had turned the committee into a “circus” which, in his opinion, only served interests that had nothing to do with the search for truth and were linked to party political strategies. Gil criticized the conduct of parallel trials and criticized the inclusion in the agenda of appearances that were not included in the original work schedule. The socialist leader pointed out that the national leadership of the PP was the real person responsible for the decisions made in the investigation.
The position of the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) brings another dimension to the debate. The group’s spokesman, Joan Josep Queralt, rebuked the PP’s stance and accused it of lacking integrity, citing the party’s legal history. Queralt emphasized that the investigation results had not yet shown the existence of a party’s systemic corruption practices and emphasized that no conclusive evidence had been found that would structurally endanger a party.
Senator of the Navarro People’s Union (UPN) and spokesperson for the commission, María Mar Caballero, acknowledged to Europa Press the partisan nature of the commission, which is led by the majority of the PP and controls the selection of candidates. In his assessment, he emphasized that the debate in the Commission faithfully reflected the situation of the PSOE and the central government and considered the format chosen to be useful. Caballero expects the sessions to last until the end of the legislative session and underlines his support for the continuation of the work.
The deliberations of the Koldo Commission and the large number of appearances in the Clara Campoamor Hall have made the forum a central place of political confrontation in 2025, with the investigation of alleged corruption plots in public administration becoming a central point of conflict between the main parties represented in the Upper House.
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