AS SPANIARDS GO off on their summer holidays, Pedro Sánchez must be breathing a huge sigh of relief. In June, the shaken prime minister offered profuse apologies after Santos Cerdán, his right-hand man in the ruling Socialist Party, was remanded in prison to face charges of taking at least €620,000 ($730,000) in bribes on public-works contracts. Worse, Mr Cerdán’s predecessor in the role, José Luis Ábalos, also faces trial before the Supreme Court for corruption (both men proclaim their innocence). Mr Sánchez told parliament this month that he considered resigning but “throwing in the towel is not an option.” Neither his party nor his parliamentary allies (he leads a minority coalition government) have yet forced him to. But he is now on borrowed time, at the mercy of events. With two years to go before the next election must be called “the government is a lame duck,” admits a senior Socialist.