The situation for the prime minister worsens as the ex treasurer of the PP reveals more of his secret papers.
Barcenas now says that deliveries of cash were made to Mariano Rajoy and the party’s general secretary, Maria Dolores de Cospedal during 2008, 2009 and 2010. The figure he quotes is 45,000 euros for each between 2009 and 2010. The “donations” were made with 500 euro notes placed in brown envelopes.
The money came from entrepreneurs who Barcenas says donated cash in return for being awarded lucrative contracts. He says that the amounts exceeded the legal limits for donations.
What of Sr Rajoy’s reaction to all this.
Understandably, the opposition have called for his resignation but then the Socialists are mired by scandal about corruption as well – like the “kettle calling the saucepan black” (a quaint English saying dating back to when kettles and saucepans were both blackened by being placed over an open fire).
The Prime Minister, for his part, says that they received a clear and decisive mandate in 2011 and that they are going nowhere. He adds that Barcenas, who is in prison himself for corruption, is trying to blackmail him and the party. The hope is that all this will have gone away by the next election in 2015.
The problem is that each time Louis Barcenas appears in court, he reveals more evidence to support his claims. Whilst the PM may say that he is not going away, neither is the scandal.
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