The PSOE keeps the commission on the Cerdán case on hold six months later

MadridLast June, theCivil Guard report that implicated Santos Cerdán in an alleged corruption scheme It shocked the PSOEFour days after the case broke, Pedro Sánchez convened the party leadership and announced a series of measures to answer: among others, their appearance in CongressThe expulsion of José Luis Ábalos from the party and the creation of a parliamentary commission to "uncover the truth" about the Koldo case. The request, registered the following day by the parliamentary group, argued that the "seriousness of the events and conduct" reflected in the UCO report "demanded" a parliamentary investigation because it was "essential" to know the facts "in depth."

However, almost six months later, the request remains shelved and hasn't even been put to a vote in the plenary session of Congress, the body that must approve its creation. This is the first hurdle. Afterward, the committee must be formally established, and the parties must agree on a work plan and a list of witnesses. But all of this is still a long way off. Since then, the Socialists have avoided including it on the agenda of any of the ten plenary sessions held since the summer. It won't be debated in the last plenary session of 2025 either, which will be this week, so any hypothetical vote—if it happens—will take place in February, since January is a recess month for parliamentary purposes. Regarding this delay, Socialist sources claim that "there are five investigative committees underway" and argue that the smaller parties "are overwhelmed." However, of the five commissions that have been approved and are currently active, two—the Catalonia Operation commission and the August 17 attacks commission—have not summoned any witnesses since before the summer, and two have yet to approve their work plans—the blackout commissions, which are duplicated due to the support of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). The only one that has functioned in this last quarter It has been the one from the DANA storm..

A first commission on medical supplies

The one that Yes, it was working. For six months last year, the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) commission of inquiry was established to investigate alleged irregularities in the purchase of medical supplies during the pandemic. It was the socialists' response to the arrest of Koldo García, but it ultimately fizzled out. The commission closed in October 2024 without having summoned either Ábalos or Koldo García, and without having debated or approved its conclusions.

The extension of the work had to be approved, but the refusal of the PP, Vox, and Coalición Canaria parties led the PSOE to abstain from the vote, resulting in the committee's hasty conclusion. Only 21 hearings were held, less than 25% of those scheduled. He did appear —on the eve of the Catalan elections— was Salvador Illa. And the president of the Almería Provincial Council, Javier Aureliano García, was also mentioned, who He was arrested two weeks ago. And now it's under investigation.

The DANA storm and the blackout

This isn't the first time the PSOE has dragged its feet on establishing a commission of inquiry. After the nationwide blackout of April 28th, the Socialists and Sumar pushed for a commission to analyze its "facts, causes, responsibility, and lessons learned." It was approved twenty days later, but took six months to be formed and still hasn't started its work. And with the DANA storm—a commission promoted by Sumar, ERC, Junts, and Compromís—it was also a slow process: the first appearances came eight months after its approval and coincided with the first anniversary of the storm.

The other commissions of inquiry

The Koldo case and its ramifications are under scrutiny in other parliamentary bodies. The most prominent investigative committee is the Senate committee, which the People's Party (PP) controls at will: it has held more than one hundred hearings and is where the PP is most active. They summoned Pedro Sánchez a month ago.

Meanwhile, four regional parliaments have launched their own investigations. The most recent was in Murcia, established a month ago to examine the "potential harm" caused by alleged irregularities in high-speed rail (AVE) contracts in the region. In Navarre, the commission was approved almost unanimously just days after the Civil Guard's report on Santos Cerdán was released: it began hearings in October and will scrutinize public works contracts awarded during the last four legislative terms. The initial commissions were in the two regions first implicated in the Koldo case. In the Balearic Islands, the commission concluded in June 2024—two months after its formation—with findings agreed upon by the People's Party (PP) and Vox, which maintained that Francina Armengol's government knew the masks were unusable and allowed them to expire. In the Canary Islands, the investigation is in its final stages – a draft of the conclusions was leaked in September after more than a year of hearings – and it must be considered whether to reopen it, as requested by the People's Party (PP), due to the summons of Minister Ángel Víctor Torres.