The PP does not play its cards well
MadridPolitical life in Madrid is currently unfolding between two scenarios. Firstly, the courts, due to the start of the trials for corruption cases involving the PP and the PSOE. And secondly, in the realm of international relations, concerning everything related to the situation in the Middle East, after a precarious two-week truce was announced, with very uncertain results. These are very diverse issues, which obviously have nothing to do with each other, but which, if followed closely, give a fairly accurate idea of the point at which political forces stand, particularly those of the Popular Party and the Socialists. The start of the trial of the Ábalos-Koldo-Aldama case scheme was, and will continue to be in the coming weeks, a great opportunity for the PP to take advantage of the exhibition of the reprehensible procedures employed by the former Minister of Public Works and former organization secretary of the PSOE, his advisor, and the businessman who did business with them, in relation to public contracts to acquire sanitary material, allegedly violating the law in a tragic context, that of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyond the farce the oral hearing has become, the most interesting thing has been to note that the Popular Party has not managed to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the witnesses' testimonies, mainly Ábalos' ex-partners and the businesswoman who explained how she delivered bags of money at the PSOE headquarters, worth 90,000 euros. The Popular Party's leadership has not focused on the trial and has dispersed its messages, making serious mistakes, particularly regarding its position on the international crisis opened by the war in Iran. The Popular Party has made it clear that they do not have a clear position regarding Donald Trump's support for Benjamin Netanyahu. Even Pope Leo XIV went further than the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in their respective statements last Tuesday. "The world is better when a tyrant falls," Feijóo said at the beginning of the war. And this week he specified that "the West is not that," in relation to Trump's threat to "destroy a civilization," finally calling for "containment" and "de-escalation" this Friday. More forcefully, the pontiff condemned "the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business," adding that "it will not be military actions that create spaces of freedom or times of peace."
Jessica Rodriguez's statement
The PP would have been enough to let the voice of Jéssica Rodríguez, the “registered dentist” after having been an “image hostess”, as she defined herself, be heard at full volume, without looking for other headlines, rejecting the questions of Ábalos' lawyer about whether she had engaged in prostitution. This ex-partner of the former minister explained in detail how the former socialist organization secretary commissioned her to move into an apartment for their meetings and how, in parallel, with Koldo's help, she was successively hired by two public companies for which, in reality, she never worked.
This single statement severely damaged the image of the socialist organization, taking into account Ábalos' organic position, in addition to his condition as minister. Jéssica Rodríguez arrived at the Supreme Court well covered, to hide her image as much as possible. On the other hand, Ábalos' second ex-partner, Claudia Montes, ex-Miss Asturias, accessed the building greeting the media, and her statements were even more explicit, especially regarding the fraud with her labor contract. Especially relevant was the mention made according to which Koldo gave instructions not to bother her because she never went to work. What she did do – she added – was go to a library to read “bbooks about trains”, as she was hired by Logirail, a company in the sector.
In essence, the most important thing about these statements had already been said in hearings during the investigation or in the reports of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, which is the one that has investigated the case. The trial confirms it and places Ábalos and Koldo in a very complicated situation. For them, the outcome of the case has a poor prognosis. The position of the businessman Víctor de Aldama is not very different, although the prosecutor asks for seven years in prison, many less than the 24 for Ábalos and the 19 and 6 months for Koldo. In short, this was a very favorable week for the government's desgaste strategy that the PP has followed. For the popular party, it will now be when the headaches begin with the resumption of the trial of the Kitchen case. In this case, the former leadership of the Interior headed by the former minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, a confidant of former president Mariano Rajoy, just as Ábalos was of the current president, Pedro Sánchez, is being prosecuted.
The Kitchen case
The Kitchen case is an old matter, but one that still harms the PP, despite it now having a different leadership. The fact that the State apparatus was used to prevent the progress of investigations into the structure organized by the former PP treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, with the aim of maintaining a parallel accounting system to the official one, carries significant weight. It makes little sense, in any case, to consider these cases as a kind of trial of bipartisanship. It is evident that these are cases of corruption that undermine the credibility of the affected parties, but they do not destroy their work in government. Nevertheless, it is clear that neither one nor the other was capable of implementing detection mechanisms to prevent corrupt practices, nor did they react forcefully when the facts began to emerge. It has never been explained, for example, why Ábalos was dismissed as minister but continued as a deputy.
Everything that is happening leaves any speculation about a possible change of cycle in Spanish politics in the next general elections in suspense. We now have to see what happens in the Andalusian elections and what the pacts between the PP and Vox in Extremadura will be like. Meanwhile, the PP spokesperson, Ester Muñoz, has caused a significant problem for her party by downplaying the detention of a Spanish sergeant by the Israeli army. This is further proof of the Popular Party's lack of direction and sensitivity regarding everything affecting the Middle East crisis.