Corruption, the erosion of the system
This week, information has come to light suggesting connections between former minister Cristóbal Montoro, law firms, and favorable dealings with the Tax Agency by certain citizens and celebrities. Another episode adds to an endless list.
What we're seeing in the media is a media counterattack against the corruption of Koldo and company. The Popular Party points the finger at the Socialist Party, the Socialist Party uncovers scandals within the Popular Party. The public scandal is a form of crossfire between the only two parties that have governed Spain since the transition.
It's disgusting.
Because if both accuse each other, and both have well-founded reasons to accuse each other, the conclusion is only one: nothing has changed here since the transition. And if something has changed, it has changed only a little, and only for a few. The message being instilled is that we are still a country where connections outweigh merit, where access to power is used to favor people within one's circle, and where oversight mechanisms fail suspiciously. Madrid as a center of corrupt power.
But corruption isn't just a public immorality. It's an economic disease. Wherever it takes root, investment dwindles, talent flees, civil servants degrade, and politics becomes an opaque marketplace. There are sufficient studies showing the correlation between structural corruption and impoverishment. No country that has naturalized corruption has made sustained progress.
The political damage is even deeper. When citizens become convinced that democracy is useless in safeguarding the system, disaffection grows. And that vacuum is quickly filled by populisms. It doesn't matter whether they are from the left or the right. They all feed on the same discontent. They all promise to destroy the system without explaining how they will do it or with what guarantees. And all, without exception, end up destroying the democracy they claim to want to save.
Therefore, this umpteenth exchange of accusations between parties is not harmless. Nor is it a passing spectacle. It is a corrosive process. It weakens trust in institutions. It turns voters into resigned cynics or radicals who no longer listen or engage in dialogue. And it paves the way for democracy to be replaced by dangerous experiments masquerading as alternatives.
I'm not writing this to defend the big parties or attack the small ones. Nor do I believe all politicians are corrupt. But either this changes once and for all, or the system will end up rotting sooner than we think.