Ex-minister leaves Sanchez’s party amid pressure over corruption, keeps MP seat

Spain’s former transport minister José Luis Ábalos announced his resignation from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) on Tuesday but will remain a member of parliament despite revelations that his former aide claimed millions in commissions for supplying face masks during the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Ábalos announced his resignation at a press conference, saying he would defend his “honour” and not surrender to those who falsely accuse him, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

“I cannot give up (…) if I were to resign at this moment, it would be interpreted as a sign of guilt and would only provoke my stigmatisation politically and personally. I know what it is to be a political stinker”, he said.

The former minister also recalled that he was “not accused of anything”, nor was he part of the investigation into the case, nor had he benefited from “any illicit enrichment”.

“I have no need to invoke the principle of innocence”, he stated.

Within minutes of announcing his decision, the PSOE began expelling him from the party. “It is a very sad day,” said PSOE parliamentary spokesman Patxi López.

Since the scandal broke in the press last week, senior PSOE officials, as well as those in the Spanish People’s Party (PP/EPP), the main opposition force, and the far-right Vox party, the third largest grouping in the House, have demanded Ábalos’ resignation for allegedly having known about the case of more than €50 million in bribes.

However, with the government’s stability currently depending on parliamentary support from Catalan and Basque separatist parties, Ábalos’ decision to leave PSOE makes it even more difficult for the party to forge clear majorities when voting on legislation in parliament, in particular when it comes to the national budget between now and the end of the current legislature in 2027.

Since the case broke, the former minister has defended his innocence, insisting that he had no direct knowledge of the scandal that broke in the press dubbed the “Koldo case”, referring to Koldo García, his advisor and confidant, who held high positions in the public administration thanks to their mutual friendship.

Ábalos was dismissed as minister in July 2021 as part of a reshuffle of Sánchez’s government. Last week, the prime minister assured that the PSOE would not tolerate corruption in its ranks and promised to take disciplinary action.

In a tense political standoff with his party, Ábalos said on Tuesday that although he was leaving the PSOE, he would remain in parliament and join the so-called Mixed Group in the House, which brings together politicians of very different ideologies.

Opposition parties PP and VOX reacted to the announcement, accusing Sánchez of being politically responsible for the case “by action or inaction” and pointing out that Ábalos had Sánchez’s full confidence during his years as a minister, with PP secretary general Cuca Gamarra taking direct aim at the head of the Spanish government on Tuesday.

“Now we are beginning to be aware of why (Sánchez) dismissed Minister Ábalos in 2021. Sánchez was perfectly aware of all the corruption that was behind it and, therefore, he has covered it up, he has hidden it”, commented Gamarra, while promising that her party will go “to the ultimate consequences” so that the responsibilities, in this case, are delimited.

Ábalos’ move comes after a painful “slow motion” process that began last Friday (23 February) when the PSOE urged him to leave his seat in parliament “out of political responsibility”.

It was only on Monday (26 February) that he agreed to give up his responsibilities as chairman of the Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee.

Compromising information for Sánchez?

As Spanish magistrates continued their investigation into the case on Tuesday, right-wing opposition forces claimed that the main accused, Koldo García, could reveal ‘secrets’ that could be highly compromising for the prime minister.

However, in a sign that the government and the PSOE want maximum transparency in the case, the Socialist Party registered a request in Parliament on Tuesday to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the facts.

On the other hand, the regional president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, said in an interview with the private radio station Onda Cero on Tuesday that his party was “not afraid of what (Koldo García) might say”.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)