The main question is how far a man’s loyalty goes. Or two. Or three. Because it is enough for someone to tell only part of what they know to put Sanchez in a more serious predicament. … Those he had been avoiding until now. Abalos, Coldo and Cerdan were the Three Musketeers of Sanchismo, the passengers of the lead car – which was not always a Peugeot, they even lied about that -, the masters of the movement that brought Pedro into government. They know, and some of them may keep recordings, about all the internal secrets of the time, and the survival of the current executive branch depends largely on their remaining silent even in the face of the threat of conviction from the Supreme Court.
There is fear or panic in Moncloa about the possibility that they may decide to cooperate with the judicial system or simply reveal to the public the details of what they went through during their political stay. Perhaps they cannot and do not need to cause criminal damage because they realize that any compromise statement would turn the mandate upside down. Cerdan will hold out, or at least that’s what the Praetorian Socialists are confident of, but the other two are already beginning to show the tip, the peak of the blanket that currently protects their sense of discipline. They ask for help, for guarantees of protection for themselves or their families, believing – logically given the precedents – that the president can help through the Attorney General’s Office.
But it turns out that the Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution requested pretrial detention yesterday, and it was approved by the investigating judge, who excluded him a month ago under a strict guarantee, given the provisions required for the imminent trial. Another first for Sanchismo: a sitting deputy going to prison. (Junqueras was already in prison when he was elected.) This is not the classic talkative Congressman, but a former minister who played a decisive role and enjoyed the utmost confidence in the Cabinet and in the party. Since it is very cold in the bag, no one is ignoring evidence of an objectively dangerous situation.
Of course Abalos and Koldo could lie in their defense. Even accusing others of half-truths or insinuations without evidence. It is within the possible and probable; Out of spite, out of revenge, out of a sense of abandonment or to draw attention to someone to act in the face of the virtual emergency of Carceleras’ song. Leaks in recent days point to this trend, as a warning of the danger posed by someone with sensitive information locked in a cell. Sanchez is used to ignoring scandals, but he has a problem. And it is that, due to his treacherous relationship with the truth, so to speak, between his word and the word of an alleged criminal, he is the one people believe.