Cristóbal Montoro, or where we come from

In 2012, in the midst of the worst financial crisis that Europe had suffered in a century, Cristóbal Montoro was the Minister of Finance who said: "The men in black They won't come to Spain." The idea was received by the Spanish media as a joke, but Brussels wasn't too amused. These were the times of skyrocketing risk premiums, of systematic non-compliance with deficit commitments by the Spanish government, and of uncertainties following the restructuring of the banking system, especially since the supposed clean-up process still led to the final big scam, that of Bankia (headed by another former PP minister, in this case of the Economy, Rodrigo Rato). Rato's successor in the Economy department in Rajoy's government was Luis de Guindos, who always refused to admit that Spain refused to admit that . 000 million euros as a "loan on very favorable terms." While the bailout was being negotiated, Rajoy encouraged Guindos as if he were a Real Madrid striker, with a mobile phone message that was mocked by half the world."Hang on. Spain is not Uganda.". In fact, Uganda's economy had grown by 17.5% between 2008 and 2012, while Spain's had contracted by 2.5%. Black, pink, or patterned suits, a troika A group of representatives from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank (which directly supervised the Bank of Spain) took control of the Spanish economy. The European Union Banking Authority was also added to this trio, given what was called the "special nature" of the bailout. The underlying message was that the Spanish government could not be trusted.

And it wasn't. We've just recalled a few scenes from the horror film that was navigating the crisis under a government formed by figures like Rajoy, Montoro, and Guindos, which naturally included severe opacity in the management of European funds, or the evaporation of some sixty billion from the so-called pension pot. But there's more. Operation Catalunya, which is the reason that led Montoro to appear in Congress on Monday, where he once again gave a spectacle of his poor manners, was a political scandal that is now known to everyone who cares to know about it, and which once again featured the comedy duo of Montoro and Rajoy, with the addition of Jorge Fernández Díaz—personally going to pressure bankers to make them provide false evidence against Catalan independence leaders.

Memories are short, and that's why it's good to remember where we come from. Calling the Aznar and Rajoy governments delinquent might be unfair to those who worked honestly, but as a colloquial description, it's not inaccurate. Especially now that their party boasts of fighting hard against corruption.