Spain’s left-wing government, which has championed its record on gender equality and the fight against violence against women, is facing renewed scrutiny after a senior police chief it appointed resigned amid allegations of rape.
José Ángel González, the country’s second most senior police officer and a 2018 appointee, stepped down on Tuesday after Spanish media reported that a junior female colleague had filed a complaint against him in January over an alleged rape in April 2025. A judge has since summoned him as part of the investigation.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told parliament that González “jumped before he was pushed,” describing the accusation as “so serious that, once known, his resignation was demanded.”
Speaking during a trip to India, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez insisted the government only became aware of the complaint on Tuesday and had acted “with empathy, coherently and firmly.”
The conservative main opposition Popular Party (PP) questioned both González’s appointment and how the government could have been unaware of the allegation. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo wrote on X: “Does it really expect us to accept that an interior minister has no clue that his police top brass commits and covers up crimes?”
Marlaska rejected calls for his resignation, saying he would step down only “if the victim herself has not felt protected.”
The case adds to mounting pressure on Sánchez’s minority coalition, already strained by corruption investigations and a series of sexual harassment scandals in 2025. A close aide to the prime minister was previously removed following complaints, with accusers alleging the Socialist party failed to respond to reports of misconduct for months.
