MADRID—Riot police clashed with protesters in Madrid late Saturday and demonstrations broke out in several other Spanish cities after the prime minister denied he had accepted under-the-table payments.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised to open his personal bank accounts to public scrutiny and denied reports alleging that he and members of his governing conservative Popular Party accepted or made undeclared payments.
Rajoy said the reports were false.
“Next week, my statements of income and assets will be made available to all citizens,” he said in Madrid, adding they would be published on the official website of the prime minister.
By late Saturday it was clear Rajoy’s pledge had failed to defuse the controversy as riot police cordoned off several of Madrid’s main avenues in a bid to stop protesters from gathering in large groups.
Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce said Friday there was sufficient cause to investigate allegations of irregular financing within Rajoy’s party. The newspaper El Pais has published details of secret papers belonging to former party treasurer Luis Barcenas allegedly documenting undeclared payments.
The money allegedly was paid by businesses, many linked to the once booming construction industry, before the sector imploded in 2008. El Pais said nearly two-thirds of the alleged payments violated Spain’s party financing laws.
“I have never received or handed out ‘black money’ in this party or anywhere else,” Rajoy said.
Some opposition parties called for Rajoy to resign and demanded national elections.
Demonstrations broke out late Saturday in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Valladolid and Sevilla, calling on the party to explain its finances. A strong police presence stopped protesters from getting close to Rajoy’s Popular Party headquarters in Madrid.
“It’s absurd,” said Miguel Gomez, 30, demonstrating about 90 metres from the headquarters. “They’re telling us these payments don’t appear in the books, but of course they don’t. We’re talking about ‘black cash.’ They’re having a laugh at our expense.”
The revelations come at a delicate moment for Spain, which is showing signs of convincing investors and European authorities that it is serious about reforming the economy and keeping its finances in check to avoid a full bailout.
The scandal broke when the National Court reported that Barcenas had amassed €22 million ($30 million) in Swiss bank accounts several years ago.
Barcenas was the party’s long-time treasurer but resigned in 2009 when his name appeared in the court’s probe into alleged irregular financing practices by the party. His lawyer has denied the Swiss account money was illegally obtained or linked to the party.
The lists published by El Pais said the documents showed that as of 1997 Rajoy received about €25,000 ($34,000) in “envelopes” each year.
“They need to resign for sure and return the money,” said Eva Caballero, 52. “They also should be banned from politics and we need a strict ethical code in politics.”
Many of the payments occurred during Spain’s boom years of the late 1990s when the construction industry made the country one of the most successful economies in the European Union.
The corruption scandal is the latest to rock Spain, with dozens of other cases involving bankers, politicians, town councillors and even the royal family. But this one has stirred more anger given that Rajoy’s party is demanding enormous sacrifices of Spaniards as the country battles a double-dip recession and 26 per cent unemployment.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Harold Heckle
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