The PP was already the first party to be convicted of corruption as a political organisation, and this Friday its third conviction has been confirmed, all three relating to the Gürtel case. In this case it was the plot that operated in the Madrid municipality of Boadilla del Monte which came before the court. Between 2001 and 2009 public awards were made by the Francisco Correa's cronies in exchange for commissions that PP officials and the party shared. The ruling certifies that this money part was used to pay campaigns in the municipal elections of 2003 and 2007, and for this reason the PP has been found guilty of profiting from the scheme and will be forced to pay a €204,000 fine. Among those convicted, the sentence imposed on the former mayor of the town Arturo González Panero stands out: 36 years and 11 months.

The death of businessman Rafael Palencia on 14 October was the latest death of a person under investigation in the Gürtel plot and adds to a long list. Since the beginning of the investigation, the Gürtel curse has accumulated more than a dozen deaths, some of them in strange circumstances or a few days before testifying.