Montoro resigns from the PP after his indictment: "There is no evidence"

Barcelona / MadridFormer Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro has resigned from the PP following his indictment. Party sources explained that Montoro announced his decision to resign this Thursday morning. The move comes the day after a judge in Tarragona notified him that he and his team in the Spanish government are being investigated for allegedly manipulating laws—making legislative changes in exchange for kickbacks from companies benefiting from the modifications. This judicial decision has put Alberto Núñez Feijóo in a difficult position, as for weeks he has focused his strategy on attacking Pedro Sánchez over the Santos Cerdán case. Montoro's indictment shook up the PP leader's plan, forcing him to go on the defensive while the PSOE uses the case to counterattack. In Genoa they distance themselves from the former minister, although until this Thursday he was still linked to the party – he attended the PP congress a couple of weekends ago – and they claim the cleanliness of Feijóo's current team.

The PP's line, for the moment, is to emphasize that Montoro left the position in the Spanish government "more than seven years ago" and that "he has no labor ties with Feijóo's team or with the current PP." However, the Popular Party ignores that a couple of years ago, according to information fromThe IndependentFeijóo turned to members of former minister Montoro's team for advice. Among the most prominent names is one of those charged by Tarragona's investigating court number two, former Secretary of State for Finance Miguel Ferré, who held a "decisive position" in the plot, according to the judge who charged him. "Montoro was the only member of the officials under investigation," stressed PP sources. This is not Feijóo's only connection to Montoro's team. In the last reshuffle of the PP leadership, the party leader appointed Alberto Nadal as Deputy Secretary of Economy. Nadal was Secretary of State for Budgets at the end of Montoro's term. However, he is not charged for the alleged irregularities in the Ministry of Finance.

Montoro defends himself

In a statement sent to Efe, Montoro defended himself by criticizing the ruling by the Tarragona judge investigating him. According to the former Finance Minister, the ruling accuses him "without any evidence" and links it to the context of "genuine scandals within the Spanish government." Montoro also argues that it is "absolutely anomalous" that the secret investigation lasted seven years and did not begin until he left office in 2018. In the statement, he also complains that from his first day as minister, he was "the target of successive campaigns of insinuation in the press and parliamentary questions and interpellations" that served as a vehicle for the plot.

The Socialists on the attack

On the other hand, the PSOE, accustomed to being the butt of all the blows for months following the Cerdán case, has found in Montoro's indictment A breath of fresh air and a golden opportunity to turn things around. "The Popular Party hasn't changed. Because it carries corruption within it [...]. Feijóo hasn't come to regenerate anything. He's come to restore the worst," PSOE sources denounced this Thursday. At Ferraz, they focused on Feijóo's ties to collaborators of the former Finance Minister. "Some will think Montoro is a thing of the past. But he's also present in the PP: just two years ago, Feijóo recovered Montoro's inner circle to strengthen his economic team," the Socialists argue. The PSOE has also taken advantage of the PP's waiting more than fifteen hours to react to accuse them of having lectured them about Cerdán when they haven't acted decisively as soon as the indictment became known.

"Not a single measure, not a single condemnation, just the impotence of someone who never does anything and only dedicates himself to giving lessons. Will they open expulsion proceedings? What regeneration measures does the PP intend to adopt?", Socialist sources wondered before it was announced that Montoro had left the party.

The PP's arguments

The PP has assured that last night the party's Rights and Guarantees Committee had already decided—although they did not report it—to "open an information procedure related to this case," which now "remains in limbo." Feijóo has no public agenda this Thursday, and those responsible for reacting were the party's Deputy Secretary of Finance, Juan Bravo, and the Deputy Secretary of Regional and Municipal Policy, Elías Bendodo. "If we make a broad analysis, I think we're not hearing talk here about commissions, prostitutes, the placement of friends, or professorships that don't exist," Bravo defended himself on Antena 3.

Shortly after, Bendodo also referred to the cases surrounding Sánchez and the "salvation table." "It wouldn't occur to us to blame Sánchez for either Filesa [the PSOE corruption case during Felipe González's term] or the economic crisis that occurred during Zapatero's presidency. It would be good if the PSOE exercised the same prudence and did not try to link President Feijóo to allegations from almost ten years ago. "It's evolving," Bendodo argued. The First Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, described the events as "very serious" and responded that Feijóo should provide explanations, since for her this case shows that this is "a way of acting" intrinsic to the PP, which "is on the side of the."

Díaz attacks Montoro

Regarding other political spaces, from Sumar, the second vice president of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz, attacked Montoro and defended the anti-corruption measures Sánchez announced in Congress, ten of them proposed by her party, in the wake of the Cerdán case. "The PP's economic miracle was corruption," she said in a media address. The spokesperson for Comuns in Parliament, David Cid, insisted on TV3 that "it shows once again that the PP always excels when it comes to stealing and establishing itself as a criminal organization." However, Cid also warned the PSOE that it must act: "The response cannot be 'and you more'."

The PSOE is trying to set an example

For now, the PSOE's objective is to counter the PP's reaction to the Montoro case, which immediately forced Cerdán's resignation and announced anti-corruption measures. last PP congress, had no organizational responsibilities, unlike Cerdán. However, the PSOE has not missed the opportunity to divert attention with a case that undermines Feijóo's strategy, and he is now experiencing his own taste of justice.