Inside Spain: Former PM accused of sexual assault and first cracks in €60 travel pass

On Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez got everyone excited about a new countrywide travel pass which will cost €60 per month and can be used ‘anywhere’ in the country and on ‘all types’ of means of transport. People under 26 will pay €30.

But it hasn’t taken long for the first cracks to appear. For starters, there’s the fact that, as things stand, it can only be used on commuter trains, mid-distance trains and state buses.

No high-speed Ave trains, no Madrid or Barcelona metro, no Valencia or Alicante tram, no Alsa buses across Spain.

It is possible use it for train trips such as Seville - Cádiz , Barcelona - Girona, Madrid - Salamanca, Valencia - Alicante, Zaragoza - Teruel, A Coruña - Santiago de Compostela - Vigo, but the travel pass won’t work as a sort of ‘Interrail’ for all Spain.

READ ALSO: Is Spain's new €60 countrywide travel pass worth it?

Therefore, whether it’s long distance or intercity, the €60 isn’t as countrywide or comprehensive as Sánchez suggested when he said it would "allow them (all citizens) to travel throughout the country", and that it "will forever change the way Spaniards understand and use public transport".

Those are big claims, and it hasn’t taken long for the opposition to speak up.

Andalusia's PP Finance Minister Carolina España on Friday criticised the fact that the central government has not yet called the autonomous communities for a meeting about the travel pass.

In an interview on Canal Sur Television, España pointed out that the Prime Minister's announcement "sounded like he was playing politics," because it was presented "suddenly, but we haven't heard anything more about it."

She stressed that Andalusia would be willing to "join" the scheme, but warned that it would first be essential to clarify "under what legal conditions" this would be, "how it will be financed" and what its cost will be for local and regional authorities.

España’s words are understandable given that Sánchez will need to get the regions on board for the €60 countrywide pass to be worth it, as so much of Spain’s transport network is decentralised and run by the regions, provinces and even municipalities.

The right-wing government of the Community of Madrid is not convinced by the single transport pass either.

Sources within Isabel Díaz Ayuso's government consider the announcement "improvised," an overreach of authority, and "50 percent more expensive" than existing travel passes for young people in Madrid.

We’ll have to wait and see if the abono único (single travel pass) is a winner or a flop, but Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente has a lot of work ahead - especially in PP and PP/Vox governed regions - if he wants the scheme to succeed.

In other news, Spain’s first democratically elected Prime Minister following the end of Franco’s dictatorship, the late Adolfo Suárez, has been accused of sexual assault on a minor.

A woman filed a formal complaint this month against Suárez, who died in 2014, for allegedly continuous sexual assaults that took place between 1982 and 1985 when she was between 17 and 19 years old and he was around 50.

According to her testimony, she was seeking academic and professional advice from Suárez after his tenure as premier, but he abused his power and influence to force her into sexual acts at his home that she didn’t want to take part in.

The first elected PM since Spain’s Second Republic is considered one of the key figures of Spain’s transition to democracy after the Generalísmo's 40-year dictatorship. Suárez is so widely revered that even the country’s main airport Barajas carries his name.

Sánchez is yet to give his reaction to the news, and it’s no surprise given that his own Socialist party is facing sexual misconduct and prostitution allegations that threaten its reputation as a champion of gender equality, and put its crucial base of women voters at risk.

READ MORE: Spain's ruling Socialists face sex scandal fallout among women voters

That’s not all. The social media manager for far-right party Vox resigned this week because he too stands accused of sexual assault on a militant of the party who was also underage.

And it’s not as if Spain’s centre right People’s Party can claim the moral high ground. The PP mayor of a town in Castellón in the Valencia region has also been charged this week with sexually assaulting two minors.

The mayor of the Andalusian city of Algeciras has also faced similar allegations over the past days. The list goes, regardless of the political party (cue Íñigo Errejon of far-left Sumar).

So the chickens are coming home to roost when it comes to Spanish male politicians using their position to prey on what seems to be largely underage victims.

It would be naïve to think that this doesn’t happen in pretty much any country, but at least in Spain women are feeling less scared to speak out, largely because there are now institutions and authorities at their disposal helping them to take that brave step.

READ ALSO: What to do if you're in an abusive relationship in Spain