Surreal claims, lawfare and abuse: toxic politics in Spain reflect the new Europe

Pedro Sánchez is not alone in EU in facing ‘harassment through the media and the courts’ aimed at forcing him out of politics

Pedro Sánchez may have decided to stay on as Spanish prime minister, but what made him hesitate – “harassment and bullying” of him and his wife by his political opponents – is unlikely to go away anytime soon, in Spain or elsewhere in Europe.

In an ever more polarised political sphere and on a social media battlefield where reality coexists with the wildest fictions, politicians across the continent have to live – or not – with being targets of surreal accusations, “lawfare” and increasingly ugly abuse.