The shadows of the Koldo case

BarcelonaWith one week to go before the start of the November 29 election campaign, the Civil Guard has arrested six people and searched several homes, including that of former minister José Luis Ábalos, as part of a new separate and secret piece of the so-called Koldo case. Little information has emerged so far, but everything points to alleged bribes that would involve Adif, the public manager of railway infrastructure. The fact, however, that the six detainees have already been released indicates that the investigation is still at a very early stage and that there is no conclusive evidence against anyone.

The fact is that Koldo García is in the news these days due to another derivative of the scandal that affects, note, the PP. If a few weeks ago it was learned that the publishing company of Eduardo Inda's radical right-wing digital newspaper, OK Diario, had paid 242,000 euros for the defense of Koldo García, now he himself has denounced that the party presided over by Alberto Núñez Feijóo offered him a million euros in exchange for uncovering dirty laundry from Pedro Sánchez's circle. The accusation is especially serious because, after García's lawyer, Leticia de la Hoz, provided the court with the invoices for the payments from OK Diario, it seems plausible, as this media outlet is nothing more than a transmission belt for Génova, and specifically for the Puerta del Sol, where the government headquarters of Isabel Díaz Ayuso is located. The Spanish Prime Minister, in the middle of the pre-campaign, has not missed the opportunity to demand explanations from Feijóo, who denies everything.

Justice must clarify all the ends and ramifications of the corrupt plot headed by Ábalos and Koldo, but it should also investigate whether a party is trying to buy, through an intermediary or directly, a judicial witness. Even more suspicious is the silence of the Madrid Press Association (APM) regarding the fact that a pseudo-media outlet pays more than 200,000 euros for the defense of a journalistic source. They did issue a statement of support for journalist Ignacio Escolar for having been intimidated by one of Eduardo Inda's bodyguards, but not regarding the background of the scandal.

It must be said that the PP has a long history of dirty war against political adversaries, and for this reason it seems plausible that it attempted to attack Sánchez's government through its weakest link, which would be Ábalos' right-hand man, currently in prison, as well as the former minister, after being sentenced to prison terms of 19 and 24 years respectively. Corruption is in itself an unbearable scourge, but the partisan use of the corrupt is even worse because it denigrates politics and causes a loss of trust in institutions. It is foreseeable that the PSOE, which has already expelled all those investigated in this case, will pay a price at the polls for all these scandals. But the PP should also give concrete explanations as to whether its own money, or money coming from institutions governed by the conservatives, has helped to pay for the defense of people convicted of corruption.