The Government does not have illusions. The downfall of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whether or not he is ultimately convicted, marks a turning point in the hopes of renewing a left-wing administration. As if that were not enough, they do not expect this to be the last onslaught…
The Government tried to boast, last Tuesday, about the new records registered in the labor market, with more than 22.3 million employed, as “proof of the strength” of the Spanish economy, as well as for the measures approved in the Council of Ministers to encourage those over 65 years old to go to the cinema for 2 euros or to extend the cultural voucher of 400 euros per year for the younger ones…
The former Prime Minister had a decisive role in the turbulent life of the company Plus Ultra according to the UDEF in the new reports released today. The documents, accessed by La Vanguardia, describe for example the determining role of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the task of persuading a shareholder who did not accept the viability plan without which the Spanish government’s aid would never have arrived or, in another case, report the influence of the former president in obtaining flight permits from the Venezuelan Government for the company.
Oysters and champagne. And with large doses of mockery. This is how the Plus Ultra leadership celebrated the airline’s bailout, with a public aid of 53 million euros, which is the basis of the judicial case in the National Court in which the former Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is under investigation. This is evidenced by a photograph sent by the company’s CEO, Roberto Roselli, to Julio Martínez, a friend of the former socialist leader, in a restaurant, accompanied by the message: Warning to navigators: SEPI does not approve those expenses.” To which they respond in the chat with a “Relax, that comes out of the 1% [referring to the commission that would have been paid for the bailout]”.
Officials of the airline Plus Ultra sought ways to halt the investigation opened regarding the company’s bailout with 53 million euros from the Government. One of them was the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The PP of Catalonia will hold its congress on June 27 with the aim of relaunching the project eight years after the last conclave. Alejandro Fernández (Tarragona, 1976) is running for re-election as president, having overcome tensions with Alberto Núñez Feijóo, with the intention of strengthening the party and growing as an alternative.
The image of a railway crossing in an advertisement was used in 2017 to call for the 1-O and end up before the judge. “You were born with the ability to decide. Will you give up?”. Now the railway crossing is played by ERC, but not heading towards independence, rather between Vilanova i la…
In the absence, for the moment, of that electoral super Sunday that hovers over every political conversation in Madrid after the regional collapse recorded by the PSOE in the recent elections, the right has celebrated its own reivindicative super Saturday this Saturday in which several tens of thousands of people have marched between Colón Square and the Victory Arch, in Moncloa, called by Sociedad Civil Española to demand the resignation of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was a political asset and a business asset. He was, at least, until this Tuesday when his indictment in the National Court for leading an influence network broke out. The former president was a draw because of his relations with Pedro Sánchez’s government, but not only for that. The case includes a list of businessmen, lawyers, and politicians who had connections with him, and in some cases those ties were linked to commercial and economic relations.
The roller coasters of Spanish politics do not rest. Now it is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who is descending vertiginously. The order from the judge of the National Court José Luis Calama, made public this week, states that the former Prime Minister (2004-2011) must undergo a thorough investigation for an alleged crime of influence peddling and money laundering in the management of the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic. The order is not an indictment. It is a reasoned exposition of the elements that lead to the opening of a judicial investigation, with the mandatory notice to the people who become investigated. (Until 2015, the term was accused, but the Criminal Procedure Law was modified in favor of softer language). Accused or investigated, Zapatero is currently on the conveyor belt of public scandal. Felipe González, his great adversary in the PSOE since Zapatero promoted the reform of the Statute of Catalonia, called the order “impressive” yesterday and said he felt “great sadness” for what is happening.