Il Government of Mariano Rajoy balanced on a thin thread that could break at any moment. While the dispute over Catalonia continues, the central executive falls the judgment in the Gurtel case, the corruption scandal which recently involved the Iberian People's Party, irreparably compromising its reputation.
A very harsh sentence against the former representatives of the PP and the party it is creating a political earthquake that could lead Spain towards new elections, the third in just three years.
The decision of the Iberian judges has in fact pushed the Socialist Party to table a motion of censure (similar to our distrust) against the Government. The proposal will be voted on in the next few days, but it has already garnered the support of many parliamentarians. "The detachment that has arisen between citizens and politics and the distrust towards parties seen in recent years has only one culprit: Mariano Rajoy", said the PSOE secretary, Pedro Sanchez, according to whom "the sentence jeopardizes the Spain's reputation in the world and the stability of the institutions". Not only that, according to the socialist leader, the very heavy sentences inflicted by the judges raise serious questions about "where the bar has been set relating to the transparency of parties, the people who lead them and public representatives".
But the attack on Mariano Rajoy's PP does not come only from the opposition. Citizens, Albert Rivera's centrist party which currently supports the government from outside, he asked early elections and, according to the rumors reported by the Iberian newspapers.
It should be underlined that, based on the provisions of the Spanish Constitution, the Yes to the motion of censure determines that it is the leader of the opposition (namely Sanchez himself) who automatically becomes Prime Minister, forming a new government. For this reason, Ciudadanos is counting on a new electoral round, even if he says he is willing to vote in favor of no confidence.
Rajoy however tries to resist and during a press conference he accused Pedro Sanchez of "wanting to be president of the government at any cost, with the support of anyone, including the separatist parties". The prime minister clarified that he does not intend to step aside and aim to reach the end of the legislature in 2020. "As far as it depends on me, all legislatures last four years," he said.
As mentioned, it was the the ruling on the Gurtel case, a corruption scandal which involved the main Spanish party from 1999 to 2005. Ten years after the start of the investigation, the Audiencia Nacional of Madrid sentenced the former treasurer of the PP, Luis Barcenas, to 33 years in prison, his wife Rosalia Iglesias to 15 , the fixer Francisco Correa, to 51 years in prison. The People's Party was also sentenced to pay 240 thousand euros as a "profit-making participant" because he benefited from the crimes without knowing that they were being committed.
Overall, 351 of the 29 defendants were sentenced to 37 years in prison for taking part in an "effective institutional corruption scheme". Furthermore, according to the judges, when Rajoy testified at the trial, denying the existence of a secret party cash register through which black funds passed, "it was not credible".
The vicissitudes of the government weigh heavily on the Bolsa de Madrid (-1,89%). The banks were especially affected: Sandanter (-3,3%), Caixabank (-3,8%) and BBVA (-3,3%). Utilities are also down in clear red (-2,8% for Endesa, -2,6% for Red Electrica, -2,8% for Enagas).
(Last update at 14.58)
