Madrid’s populist regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, profanely insulted Pedro Sánchez as the Spanish prime minister addressed parliament during a debate on his investiture Wednesday.
As Sánchez evoked corruption allegations against Ayuso’s brother, she was filmed mouthing the Spanish words for “son of a bitch” from the chamber’s gallery.
Ayuso’s team acknowledged the insult, according to Spanish outlet El Pais, while the Madrid region president herself doubled down Thursday and refused to apologize.
“[Sánchez] used the speakers’ platform and took advantage of his intervention to defame a regional president, me, and my family,” Ayuso said.
A rising star in the conservative People’s Party (PP), Ayuso made a name for herself during the COVID-19 pandemic when she aggressively opposed the health measures taken by Sánchez’s socialist government.
Last year she publicly broke ties with her party’s then-leader, Pablo Casado, after he attempted to have her investigated over a deal to buy face masks for Madrid region involving Ayuso’s brother.
Casado’s efforts eventually backfired and he was replaced by the PP’s current leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s job title.
