Every time serious cases of political corruption arise that become the central topic of current affairs, the government in power, whether from the PSOE or the PP, commits to implementing a series of measures to prevent their proliferation. The announcements are always commendable and well-intentioned, but the vast majority of initiatives end up falling by the wayside.
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The same has happened with the lobby law that was rejected yesterday in Congress by the votes against from the PP, Vox, and Junts and the abstention of the PNV. All groups agree that pressure groups should be regulated, although they do not agree on how to do it. Since 2008, when then-Initiative for Catalonia deputy Joan Herrera proposed creating a register of pressure groups, there have been many attempts to regulate the so-called lobbies, as they are controlled in the European Parliament. But when it comes down to it, for one reason or another, the initiatives have not progressed.
The proposal that failed yesterday had the support of the employers’ association Apri, which groups the main companies dedicated to this type of consultancy, and the opposition of the large companies of the Ibex 35. The fact that the Government also included employers’ associations and unions in the category of lobbies was another reason for strong disagreement. The law required an exercise in transparency and that each area of the Administration record minutes with date, place, participants, and a summary of the topics with each group or society of this type that met. It cannot be said that the Government has not tried. Its bill was blocked in Congress due to disagreements among the groups and, therefore, it resorted to the decree-law route and after approving it in the Council of Ministers three weeks ago, it tried to validate it yesterday in Congress.
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The failure is bad news for the necessary transparency that must exist in the Administration. The so-called pressure groups cannot be criminalized. They are entities that legitimately defend their rights. Therefore, they should be able to do their work openly and transparently, and this would prevent some practices that have ended up in the courts.
