UNDER REGISTRATION

Updated Thursday, February 22, 2024-00:08

The alleged corruption plot that operated from the Ministry of Transport represents a major political blow for the Government and for the PSOE, of which José Luis Ábalos was also Secretary of Organization.

According to the investigation by the National Court, in 2020 Koldo García Izaguirre, right-hand man of the then minister,

charged illegal commissions in several mask purchase operations

through a company that invoiced more than 52 million euros.

If the

suspicions are confirmed, immorality is difficult to overcome.

Ábalos' advisor would not only have taken advantage of "his relationships with authorities and public officials" to enrich himself, according to the Civil Guard, but he did so

in the months of greatest despair and mortality of the pandemic.

Among the institutions involved were also the Ministry of Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the socialist governments of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, then in the hands of Francina Armengol.

It is those "authorities" who must respond

with maximum transparency due to their status as politically responsible for this scandal.

The case reopens questions about the abrupt and never explained departure of Ábalos from both the Government and the party in July 2021. The former minister, now a PSOE deputy, yesterday declared himself "stunned" by the arrest of his assistant, but his words they generate distrust.

Ábalos never hid the close relationship between the two

, who attended all kinds of events together, including the secret meeting at the Barajas airport with the Venezuelan Delcy Rodríguez.

Furthermore, despite the fact that the advisor - a former escort and closely linked to the PSN and the number 3 of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán - has no studies and that his behavior attracted attention inside and outside the Government,

The minister placed him on the board of directors of the public company Renfe Mercancías.

The political blow to La Moncloa is evident and also has to do with the origin of this investigation:

It was the Madrid PP who, after the controversy surrounding Isabel Díaz Ayuso's brother, reported different mask contracts to the Prosecutor's Office

executed by the Government.

Among them, those who have motivated this operation.

The president who arrived at La Moncloa with a motion of censure against corruption now has an opportunity to portray himself.

His statements yesterday from Rabat offer little hope.

After reproaching "any attempt to enrich himself through the collection of commissions" during the pandemic and after denying that he had any information on the matter,

Sánchez attacked the PP by comparing this episode with that of Ayuso's brother.

A case that, contrary to what he stated, was later investigated and archived.

Lying is the worst way to face a crisis that seriously damages citizens' trust in their rulers.

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