As we know, the two main political parties are vying, neck and neck, to find the most cases of corruption or inability within the other group – fair or foul.
Making the country a better place for all is a nice thought, but sinking the other side with some scandal is so much nicer.
The Corner, a conservative English-language Spanish webpage, found it too good to resist: ‘David Sánchez, the Prime Minister’s brother, will go to trial for influence peddling and prevarication (deception). The judge who investigated the case concluded that after Pedro Sánchez mentioned his brother was a musician, the PSOE leader in Extremadura, Miguel Angel Gallardo, created an ad hoc job for him as coordinator of the two music conservatories in Badajoz, whose provincial council Gallardo presided over’. The point that the mildly ineffectual David has been in the same job since 2017 – long before his brother became president – appears to be lost to The Corner, and one wonders if he only had of had a less visible brother whether there’d even be a case after all. The poor fellow uses the name David Azagra which looks like he doesn’t seek notoriety. He’s hardly another Juan Guerra (remember him? Alfonso Guerra’s businessman brother).
As far as Sánchez’ wife Begoña Gómez goes, well we’ve been entertained now for over a year without any outcome. But Judge Peinado, encouraged by the knuckle-dragging Manos Limpias with their sheaf of press-cuttings from OKDiario, continues his (apparently) final investigation with unalloyed enthusiasm.
Another case against the PSOE, where the Attorney General (a political post) was accused of publicising the confession of Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s boyfriend, without any proof, has since collapsed after several journalists had stepped forward to say they knew about the activities of the boyfriend a couple of days earlier. Indeed, now the lawyer for the boyfriend, Alberto González Amador, admits in court that he sent out the confession (in the hope of leniency).
Summing up, El Plural says: ‘Gómez, Sánchez, and García: Three Judicial Cases Under Suspicion. It's impossible to ignore the stench of bias in the cases of Pedro Sánchez's wife, Pedro Sánchez's brother, and the Attorney General appointed by Pedro Sánchez’.
However, the main scandal for the PSOE is the ex-minister José Luis Ábalos, who was summarily fired from both his post and from the party in February last year by Pedro Sánchez when the accusations of impropriety first arose (his lieutenant Koldo García is under investigation for massive tax fraud during the Covid crisis).
Over on the Partido Popular bench, the leading stories are the problems with Carlos Mazón in Valencia (following the October flooding there) and then there’s the issue of Ayuso’s boyfriend’s activities (he is accused of tax fraud). A more immediate problem for Ayuso – sometimes seen as the next leader of the PP – is the accusation levied by the court towards three of her senior officials regarding the refusal to give medical aid to the elderly trapped in residences during the Covid crisis known as ‘the protocol of shame’ (‘they would have died anyway’ said Ayuso in a regrettable parliamentary outburst). Then, the Monday appointment with the judge was abruptly postponed at the last moment.
7,291 veterans died in Madrid – apparently due at least in part to this dereliction of duty.
Then there’s the forthcoming surprise PP congress brought forward a year to early next month to be held in Madrid (Feijóo oddly announcing it by saying, ‘the Pope had a conclave, now it’s my turn’). As Pedro Sánchez asked him in Parliament: ‘are you going to make changes? Weren’t you ready before?’
We shall find out the answer to that one on July 6th.
Perhaps things will all settle down in a few weeks’ time.
Who am I kidding?
Just to make the two points that the above reflections come from items found in the Spanish media (as collated by me), and that neither I nor indeed most of my readers have The Vote in national elections in Spain, making my recent essays on Spanish politics theoretical rather than practical.