Rajoy, the man who knew nothing

BarcelonaWe now know that Mariano Rajoy's great secret, the masterful formula that explains such a long political career, has consisted of never getting bogged down in details. If we are to believe his account to the judge, a Minister of the Interior, a head of government, or a party leader knows almost nothing about what goes on below him. "I was not aware of the reserved funds for a second of my life when I was Minister of the Interior," he stated. And this is despite the fact that one of his predecessors, José Luis Corcuera, was tried (and acquitted) for fraudulent use of these funds. But the point is that with this formula he has been able to surf through all the scandals that have affected the PP while he was one of the main, or the main, leader. He never knew anything because he wants us to believe that he only dealt with the great matters of state, with high politics.

But Rajoy also has another characteristic that is very useful in politics, which is the absence of shame. This Thursday, before the National Court, he has come to say that the case being judged, that is, Operation Kitchen, never existed, and that the accused were simply investigating Bárcenas's assets. Let's pause for a moment on this point. What we have seen is a former Spanish head of government discrediting his own police force, which uncovered the case, and the justice system itself, which has considered it worthy of a trial. And why does he do it if he could simply have blamed Jorge Fernández Díaz and said that he acted without his knowledge? Well, because Rajoy is fully aware that no one can believe that Fernández Díaz acted without his approval. Therefore, the only solution is to deny the premise, that is, the Kitchen.

This lack of shame means that the only Spanish prime minister whom the courts have branded a liar in a ruling [the National Court considered his testimony during the Gürtel case, when he denied knowledge of the PP's slush fund, to be not credible], has no problem denying everything again and remaining unfazed. Deep down, Rajoy appeared knowing he was playing on home turf (one only has to see the judge's zeal with the interrogators).

It will be interesting, in the event of a conviction, how the court justifies that, effectively, all responsibility ends with Fernández Díaz after having heard the testimony of Bárcenas and Commissioner Gonzalo Fraga. But there is no reason to think that this time it has to be different from the others, because for Rajoy, as has been seen, nothing sticks.