What is wrong with politics in Spain?

[Guanche]

El País has reported that 51 people have been arrested in connection with fraud etc for backhanders and falsification of documents in massive building projects. All of them could be classified as "the political class" with powerful positions, and as far as I can tell, they all belong to the PP - a political party that people are still voting for. Is the country waking up?

The problem as I see it is that there are so many offenders that most crimes of corruption will go uninvestigated and unpunished. Not that they punish the ones that are caught anyway! I have no doubt that Spain is one of the most politically corrupt countries in the world, no doubt in the top 10. I find this hard to come to terms with.

They have a massive Police presence. Between the Gaurdia Civil and the Police National they have over 174,000 officers. Then you have to include the Polica Local which I would guess have the same numbers as the UK. But to be generous lets say 100,000. So for a population of 45,000,000 you have 274,000 officers or more. One for every 165 citizens. And they still can't bring the corrupt to justice.

Investigations take years and years. I point to the Marbella corruption case, Operation Malaya, which started in 2006 (I say started in 2006 as the evidence was no doubt there long before that date) and still over 8 years later one of the main players is still walking around free on bail WTF! The amount recovered so far €2.4 billion. Sort of makes the recent EU bill for the UK look silly! And I would suggest that this figure is the tip of the iceberg when compared to the recent cases!

You know what, I just can't see this Podemos party being any different. I hope they are but such is the depth of corruption in Spain, I just can't see it.



Sorry for the rant, bad day!

[Perikles]

The BBC is reporting this, and the comments by ex-pats living in Spain are interesting. This one somes it up nicely

Corruption in Spain is so all-pervasive that it is not easy to find the unlucky or honest few who do not get some benefit from it. Every politician or city official with millions of ill-gotten euros has a retinue of slavering sycophantic relatives and gran amigos whose income has come from his or her dodgy business dealings, false invoices, fraudulent tenders, and equally grovelling pursuit of those higher up the chain of iniquity. With so many taking advantage, it is no surprise it has gone on so long or that it will continue to be the norm. Corruption is considered by many to be a virtuous activity and I have often come across the attitude best expressed by one of these 'friends' of the corrupt in his statement to me: "I'd rather have a smart politician than some bastard who is going to put cycle lanes all over the city." So many of the corrupt feed their enormous egos on theft and the perception that this is a somewhat noble crime. What is slightly surprising is that part of the well-fixed justice system is still sweating to uncover the corruption. Sadly, it is true what someone commented above about very little of these investigations leading to sentences. There's a splash in a media ocean of stories about corruption, pages thick every day ever since I came here 25 years ago. Unfortunately, Spanish newspaper writing is a little jargon-led and an initial story that fails to simplify the intricacies of corrupt deals is usually followed by weeks or months of updates with no back story. No one without much time and patience can follow the news of corruption. It's almost as if it was designed that way.
Is there a way out? Some seem to think so. New political groups arising from the 15M indigants movement have control of politicians high in their programme's priorities. But to be effective and lasting, this will mean masses of arrests and sentences. Virtually the entire upper strata of Spanish society right up to the already tainted royalsw will have to fall. They will do all they can to stop this.

[El Profesor]

Sometimes you get a goood perspective reading papers from somewhere else.

disinterested and balanced American view HERE (v good)

Conclusion, not out of the woods yet  - much more to come.

Let's look on the bright side, things are changing. They really are going after them, slowly but surely.

[Guanche]

Its reassuring to read about something we all know about somewhere else.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Wow, good stuff! 

[El Profesor]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And Pablo needs some good bodyguards.

Oh dear oh dear

[Janet]

good old Francoist PP ...

Iglesias' days are numbered, I fear, particularly if he really does as well in the next election as current polls are suggesting he will ...

[El Profesor]

This is just priceless. A totally pointless U-turn.

Yesterday - José Antonio Monago, the President of Extremadura of all places vehemently denied that the 32 trips to Tenerife over the last 2 years ( thirty two!!!), all paid for by the Senate were for personal reasons . . . . .  they were all business . . . . how dare you insinuate . . . . . . . . LINK

And this is while he is hosting an anti-corruption conference for the PP party in Cáceres LINK . . . and Ha ha ha LINK . . . to which Mariano Rajoy is supposed to be speaking today - I wonder if he will?

Today  . . .  I imagine after a chat with Mariano, he is ever so very very sorry and he will pay back every céntimo. And no, he wasn't lying yesterday.

LINK

So in true Catholic tradition, all is forgiven and nobody will check to see that he does. And the event turned into a eulogy of adulation and support for Mr Monago who was presented with a fireman's helmet (he was a fireman before he decided to better himself) on the stage by the ex Mayor of Badajoz, who said that he would need it because "I know thet're going to stone you, but everybody here will be a helmet to protect you because we are so proud of you". And, cue rapturous applause,  so it was announced that he wouldn't have to resign and he could count on the party's support . . . . including the personal support of María Dolores de Cospedal and Mariano Rajoy.

It is just a farce. Nobody in Spain is paying any attention to this anymore

[Janet]

Nobody in Spain is paying any attention to this anymore

Is it because it has suddenly got worse? Or because people are more aware? Or why?

Why do people seem suddenly to have woken up and cottoned on, and disowned this crap? They've put up with it long enough, surely they weren't ignorant of it before?

[Guanche]

I could say, its difficult for the Spanish people to do anything when their just treading water to stay alive (as they have done for decades). I have all but given up trying to have a reasoned political debate with any of them, and I know a quite a few. On occasion I do admit to, out of frustrated mischief, lighting the blue touch paper and standing back to watch! But I have to be careful the wifes not in ear shot as she will join in!

Two extremes. One BIL goes up like a bottle of pop if I point any of the PP's misdemeanors out, and the other goes up like a bottle of pop if I mention POSE. But the sad fact is thats all they do. Go up like bottles of pop and then carry on as normal. They shout at the TV they keep to their own news papers and apart from an automatic defence of their respected political parties, that they will frighteningly defend in a most aggressive manner, they do fuck all. They seem blind.

I have come to the conclusion that the Spanish people deserve everything they get. While they applaud criminals and gross miscarriages of justice, not just on the political front but on every day crimes, there is no hope. They put blatantly corrupt officials on pedestals, such as this man Monago and then use sledge hammers on minor offences by ordinary people. Things will never change.

The term 'Machista' is not only confined to the male treatment of females. It goes much further than that. I have found just as many Spanish females suffering from the same condition. But the condition does seems to be polarised in the Political elite, but not confined to them. This is why hardly any Spanish political type can resign even when they've been caught with their fingers in the till. They just physically can't do it. They are never wrong its just not in the Spanish nature.

The up coming general election will be the greatest test Spain has had since the death of Franco. If they fail to out the main political parties, with due regard to all  the mass of evidence of corruption and criminality by the political elite and not so elite in the public arena right now, then I'm afraid Spain will continue to tread water till the bulls come home.

This slightly tipsy rant has come to you from the RH member for Arafo