Hours before he went to prison… Jose Luis Abalos He spoke with EL MUNDO and noted the impact Begonia gomez In saving Air Europa. When asked why the airline was not investigated, the former minister said: “Because it will open Air Europe’s watermelon, and there we can reach Begonia. We can arrive safely.” Abalos also confirmed that the former CEO of Globalia, Javier HidalgoHe “talked” to the CEO’s wife when he was trying to unblock his million-dollar bailout. These statements, which referred to the role played by Gomez in the operation, prompted the government and the Socialist Workers’ Party to attack Ábalos, accusing him of “lying” and “defamation.”
“We are witnessing these people who have put one foot in prison (…) dedicated their efforts to trying to implicate innocent people with lies and deceit because they believe they will reach a better agreement on their sentence,” the First Deputy Prime Minister said on Friday. Maria Jesus Montero. And in statements to the media from Libriga (Seville), as well Number two The SWP said it was “concerned” about what it saw as Albalos’ “defence strategy”. “They believe that trying to implicate other people, especially when they are politicians, can provide a benefit in terms of punishment,” he summed up.
Montero referred to statements made by Abalos regarding Gomez’s involvement in the rescue of Air Europa. The vice president defended that this airline was “investigated, audited and supervised by all regulatory bodies” and described the million-dollar operation with which the executive saved it in the pandemic – with 475 million euros– As a “successful policy.” He stated that “Air Europe repaid the loan in full early and paid the government an interest of 100 million (euro).”
Although Montero expressed confidence that “the truth will eventually come out” to deny the accusations made by Abalos regarding Gómez, he also expressed his regret that these cause “a new punishment for people who are mentioned freely, without any kind of arguments, without any evidence.”
The Vice President believes that the former minister’s recent statements come in response to a “defensive stance.” But in case there was “another motive” behind “what Mr. Abalos wanted to say,” Montero warned: “This party, this government, will never allow itself to be blackmailed by anyone.” He concluded by saying: “Mr. Abalos knows this, knows it completely.”
On Friday afternoon, the Socialist Workers Party also spoke out to reinforce what Monteiro said. “We regret the defense strategy based on lies and slander that they carried out against the Socialist Workers Party Koldo Garcia And José Luis Abalos, they pointed to the socialists who described the words of the former minister and his former advisor as “lies” and “baseless accusations.” They concluded from the Socialist Workers’ Party that they were “only responding to a defensive stance that seeks to mitigate their responsibility to justice.”
The Socialists insist they have responded with “idealism and zero tolerance for corruption” and call on “everyone to shoulder their responsibilities.” Montero stressed that they requested Deputy Abalos “from the first minute” and described the matter as “very sad and painful for someone who belongs to their ranks to be involved in behavior of this kind.” “Anyone who evades legality and, above all, abuses the trust of those who have placed on him very important responsibilities, we condemn in its entirety,” the vice president said, a day after a man who was once a pillar of the Socialist Workers Party and the government went to prison.