MADRID, Spain — Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that he may resign over right-wing attacks against him and his wife, a move that would push Spain into unchartered political territory and raise the possibility of a new general election.

Sanchez, 52, canceled his public appearances through the weekend and said he’d reflect on the situation and announce his decision on Monday, effectively paralyzing Spain’s political system for the next five days.

“Is all this worth it?” he asked in an open letter posted on X. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

If Sanchez decides to step down, it would most likely trigger new elections. It’s possible for the prime minister to resign and hand over power, but this would require the support of a majority of lawmakers, which would be highly unlikely in Spain’s politically fragmented parliament.

Sanchez could also be using this as an opportunity to trigger a vote of confidence as a potential means to shore up his mandate in parliament, according to Federico Santi, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

On Wednesday, a Spanish court announced it was opening an inquiry into Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, for alleged influence peddling in connection to past business dealings while working for a university. The investigation follows a complaint by a small union, which Sanchez says is a politically motivated smear campaign by the far right.

Sanchez’s announcement adds to the political uncertainty surrounding his government and to the policy paralysis that has stymied it since mid-2023, when the premier called snap elections after his party suffered a scathing defeat in local and regional ballots. The premier’s minority coalition is Spain’s weakest government in about 90 years.

Catalan ballot

The country is already set for a high-stakes election on May 12 in Catalonia, the second-largest region, where Sanchez’s Socialists are trying to notch a win against separatist parties. Earlier this month, an election in the wealthy Basque region saw two nationalist parties take about 70% of the combined vote.

Sanchez is “trying to victimize himself, alleging a collusion between the opposition and the media,” opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said in a radio interview Wednesday. Feijoo added that Sanchez is trying to mobilize support for his party ahead of the Catalonia elections and subsequent European elections in June.

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