Incredible

Víctor de Aldama's testimony has further damaged trust in a government that loses credibility with every month it spends in office, writes columnist Mark Nayler

Mark Nayler

Saturday, 30 November 2024, 08:39

It's becoming increasingly difficult to figure out what Pedro Sánchez thinks is a serious enough matter to resign over. Back in April, when his ... wife Begoña Gómez was the target of accusations of corruption that even the plaintiff admitted were flimsy, Sánchez halted his duties for several days in order to consider whether to continue. But now that more weighty allegations centre on his own administration, he shows no signs whatsoever of contemplating resignation.

Up until last week, the toxicity of the Koldo scandal had largely been confined to the transport ministry. But the testimony given before a judge last Thursday by Víctor de Aldama, former manager of Zamora CF and one of the protagonists of the Koldo case, has dragged Sánchez himself into the dirt.

It's Sánchez's word against Aldama's at the moment. Sánchez insists that he's never exchanged a word with the businessman, even after a photo appeared last month that showed them together in February 2019. Sánchez claims that it was one of countless photos taken during the course of his professional duties, and maintains that he has never had any professional dealings with Aldama.

The photo, by itself, doesn't prove that the two are professionally or personally acquainted, although it does make Aldama's story more plausible than Sánchez's. But Aldama's testimony has further damaged trust in a government that loses credibility with every month it spends in office. According to a poll conducted by Sociometrica, 65% percent of Spaniards think Aldama is telling the truth by implicating Sánchez in the Koldo case, compared with 30% who believe the prime minister.

If we examine the circumstances in which Sánchez regards resignation an appropriate response, the legal status of allegations appears irrelevant. The rumours against his wife were unproven when he threatened to resign (and still are); as were fraud charges against the partner of Isabel Ayuso, the PP president of Madrid, when Sánchez demanded her resignation in March (Ayuso's partner is suing Sánchez for calling him a "confessed criminal"). But Ayuso had to go, said Sánchez, if the PP was to "start being a little more credible in [its] fight against corruption".

Credible? Why, then, didn't Sánchez resign when his government was accused of digital espionage against Catalan separatists? Or when the Koldo case first broke? Or now, after Aldama's testimony last week?

Corruption allegations don't need to have been proven for the prime minister to consider them sufficient grounds on which to resign, or to demand resignation from others. The mere fact of their existence, he seems to think, damages the credibility of a party or individual, even if the individual in question is not personally implicated. Ah, but asking for consistency from a modern politician is an outrageous demand. Sánchez's government is incredible - and not in a good way.

Este contenido es exclusivo para suscriptores

Top 50

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia