Former politicians active in the private sector rise sharply in two years
Beyond the criminal implications, the investigation into former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is raising questions these days among professionals who operate in the busy border between public and private interests. A senior official with political experience was surprised that the appearance of the governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, is being requested in Congress just because a meeting with Zapatero is mentioned in Judge José Luis Calama’s order, when this type of meeting is common. A former consultant wondered how much a former politician should be paid for a report or advisory work and recalled that at the beginning of the century a former U.S. vice president earned more than $150,000 for speaking for ten minutes at a forum with Spanish businessmen. These are examples that the boundary is blurred. And it tends to widen because the number of former politicians with business activities is increasing.