Any hope of Rajoy securing a coalition or even a minority government via
abstention flew out the window today.
Rajoy had secured the backing of Ciudadanos on the premise Rajoy would
clean up corruption.
But moments after the last coalition vote, which failed, Rajoy’s economy
minister attempted to appoint a corrupt and disgraced colleague to a
lucrative position at the World Bank.
Accusations have been ongoing ever since, and today things blew up in
Spanish parliament in a very heated debate.
Please consider Spanish Economy Minister Under Fire Over Cronyism.
Luis de Guindos, Spain’s economy minister, faced criticism in parliament
on Tuesday over a contentious decision — since withdrawn — to appoint a
disgraced former colleague to a lucrative position at the World Bank.
The affair has triggered a political backlash both against Mr de Guindos
and against Spain’s caretaker government under Mariano Rajoy, the acting
prime minister. In a tense and at times ill-tempered session of the
parliament’s economic affairs committee on Tuesday evening, opposition
leaders repeatedly accused Mr de Guindos of lying to the public — and urged
him to withdraw.
The furore erupted this month, when the government announced that it had
nominated José Manuel Soria to serve as Spain’s new executive director at the
World Bank. The move came just six months after Mr Soria — a close ally of
both Mr Rajoy and Mr de Guindos — resigned as industry minister over the
Panama Papers tax haven leak. He was named in the documents as the director
of a Panama-based shell company, prompting a denial from Mr Soria that turned
out to be false only days later.
His appointment to the World Bank job sparked immediate accusations of
cronyism, triggering a political row that forced Mr Soria’s resignation from
the post just four days after the announcement was made on September 2.
Public suspicions over the decision were heightened because the announcement
was slipped out on a Friday night, just minutes after Mr Rajoy failed in his
second attempt to secure parliamentary approval for a second term in office.
The revelation met with particular fury among leaders of the centrist
Ciudadanos party, which had supported Mr Rajoy’s candidacy but only after
extracting a promise from him to boost political transparency and step up the
fight against corruption.
Third Election Coming Up
With that bit of extreme foolishness, Rajoy all but guaranteed a third
election. The only possible way out would be for Rajoy to step down. That’s
not likely, and it may not even be enough after this fiasco.
Moreover, this incident is going to hurt Rajoy’s chances very badly in the
next election. Rajoy’s days are likely numbered.
Expect a new election in December, possibly earlier if all the political
parties give up their attempt to form a government. The other parties may as
well give up their chance, as no coalition government at all is possible at
this stage.
Besides, from the opposition point of view, it’s better to hold elections
as soon as possible after this mess Rajoy’s party created.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
