The President of Congress, Francine Armengolwill not convene this week the Council of Spokespersons which must decide whether there is reason to urgently summon the head of government, Pedro Sanchezfor corruption cases.
The request was registered on Friday … last week, the spokesperson for the PP in Congress, Ester Munoz, given the seriousness of UCO will begin the registration of two ministries and set the deadline for explanations to be produced before the end of the current session period on December 31.
Armengol could invoke the Council of Spokespersons easily for this Tuesday since this same day the Bedroom table and it is also the Congress Christmas drink. If the appearance was approved this week Pedro Sanchez You may be required to report on the following day, the 22nd, 23rd or 26th, or the last of the year, December 29th or 30th.
But if the Council of Spokespersons It is only convened in the week of the 22nd, even if the appearance is approved, the possibilities of holding are reduced to the 29th and 30th and the date is set in accordance with the president’s agenda.
This expansion coincides with the fact that the Government He has previously said the president’s plans do not include going to trial on corruption charges, although the second vice president also requested it on Friday, Yolanda Diaz.
Several members of the inauguration bloc have not spoken publicly, but they agree that Sánchez should not only appear, but do so at his own request. All this scares us Executive that the appearance requested by the PP could end up being approved and wants to, at the very least, buy some time.
The Rules of Congress require Armengol respond to the request of the PP and convene the Council of Spokespersons since it is supported by more than 70 deputies, but does not set a deadline for doing so. The Speaker of the House is clinging to this lack of definition to delay the appeal when her duty is to call it within a reasonable time and without undue delay.
The third state authority is required to act in accordance with the principle of institutional neutrality and with respect for the right of deputies to exercise their functions established in the Constitution.
SO, congressional lawyers consulted by ABC warns that Armengol could face misuse of the presidency and even obstruction of parliamentary rights if he delays without objective cause.
Munoz motivates the urgent appearance of Sánchez in the face of “the escalation of corruption cases that affect his party and his government, given the growing social concern generated by the latest arrests and searches in ministries, public companies and state agencies”.
The delay in the decision on Sánchez’s appearance also occurs when the Commission of Spokespersons accumulates six other requests for the appearance of ministers presented by the PP and linked to corruption or the prosecutor’s file. All are awaiting voting, although some date from January and are already obsolete.
There are cross accusations of guilt on this block. The most popular accuse Armengol of sometimes delaying the qualification process, causing them to lose relevance by the time they reach the Council of Spokespersons. Other times, they claim that weeks pass and the Speaker of the House does not put them on the agenda for the next meeting.
From the team of Armengol focuses on the fact that the agenda is established between all groups – the investiture bloc is in the majority – and the Government, who also participates in Council of Spokespersonsunderlines that he proposed to the PP to carry out some of these appearances.
THE popular For their part, they respond that these offers arrive when the subject has become obsolete or when it would coincide with days when many other appearances are already scheduled, to reduce their impact.
Congressional lawyers consulted by ABC denounce that suspending appearances means violating the spirit of the Congressional Rules, once again taking advantage of a legal loophole. “Although there is no deadline for submitting a request to appear for a vote, it is obvious that the logic is to submit it to a vote by the Council of Spokespersons the following week during which it will be qualified,” they explain.
What ended up happening, for example, to the two requests for appearance by the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, is outdated, Felix Bolaños, linked to the former attorney general and this today, with Álvaro Garcia Ortiz Condemned and resigned, they are still waiting for the Council of Spokespersons to put them to a vote to determine if there is a majority that supports them.
The first of these was recorded by the PP on January 13 and requested explanations from the court to report the procedural situation of García Ortiz, considering it “incompatible with the exercise of his functions.”
The text also demanded accountability “on the involvement of the Presidency of the Government and the Ministry of Justice in the ‘criminal dynamic'”, underlined the T.Supreme Courtin the January order which served to summon the former prosecutor.
While this first request to appear had been blocked for approximately six months, the PP presented another to force Bolanos to explain “the reasons for supporting the Government to the former attorney general. » He did so on July 30 after learning that Garcia Ortiz would be prosecuted by the Supreme Court. But this initiative suffered the same fate as the previous one and it is still waiting today to be submitted to a vote in Parliament. Council of Spokespersons.
Another request for appearance has been in the same situation for a few days previously, this time addressed to the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaskato give explanations on “the interference denounced by the commanders of Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and the continued pressure it would face in the context of investigations into corruption cases involving the government.
The party he chairs Alberto Nuñez Feijóo registered this initiative on July 21. Since then, the Ministry of the Interior has changed command of this unit to promote Colonel Rafael Yuste to the rank of brigadier general.
The UCO conducts investigations into cases of Begoña Gomez, Koldo, Jose Luis Abalos, Santos Cerdan or the conspiracy of the Almería masks which affects the leaders of the Popular Party. The movement of Yuste, the head of this unit, will lead to other movements within this command structure which has denounced the interference of the Government for which the PP has been waiting for explanations since last July.
Bolaños is, by far, the one who receives the most requests to appear under blockade. So, in addition to the two related to the Attorney General, there is another one that was registered by the People’s Party on August 1 regarding the non-compliance with the recommendations that the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe He has been doing it in Spain since 2019.
These recommendations constitute 19 measures that our country must implement to prevent corruption within the Central Executive and, according to the latest assessment of this prestigious body, the Government of Pedro Sanchez has not fully implemented any of them. This report was approved last June and assessed the situation until December 31, 2024, but the Executive only authorized its publication on August 1, in the middle of the holiday exodus.
The same day, the Popular Party requested that Bolaños appear before the plenary to know “the reasons for the unsatisfactory evaluation” of Greco, “confirming that Spain does not comply with a single one of the recommendations regarding the prevention of corruption.”
With less blocking time, it was registered on November 4, but with the possibility of smearing as an accomplice anyone who rejects it, a request for appearance from the Minister of Territorial Policy appears, Angel Victor Torres. The request for explanation focuses on his contradictions “regarding his relationships with members of a criminal conspiracy, consisting of, among others, Koldo Garcia And Victor de Aldama“. But also in “his personal involvement and that of his direct team in making payments for health equipment contracts to companies recommended” by this conspiracy.
Torres appeared extensively in a UCO report on the Canary Islands mask plot, highlighting favorable treatment of it, and this unit is expected to conclude another report that could contain important documentation of this minister’s involvement.
In the block of corruption cases surrounding the PSOE and the government, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes was the first to appear as a target, although in this case the partners presented themselves and refused to give explanations in the chamber.
The Popular Party registered this initiative on February 27, 2024, requesting that it report on the responsibility of the Government with regard to the alleged collection of illegal commissions for the award of contracts related to the purchase of masks during the pandemic, “the investigation of which led to the arrest of several people, among whom is a former advisor to the Executive”, we read in the press release with reference to Koldo Garcia.
And finally, and pending for almost a year, the request for appearance from the Minister of Science, Diane Morantfor the management of National Research Center Oncology (CNIO) since 2019 “and, in particular, on the numerous irregularities detected in relation to the CNIO-Arte Program, the hiring of staff, the splitting of contracts or the carrying out of trips”.
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