In 2018, José Luis Abalos became Pedro Sánchez’s loyal companion and was chosen to stand on the congressional platform and thus Defense of the censure motion brought by the leader of the PSOE against the government of Mariano Rajoy by … Judgment in the Guertel case. From the podium, the former Minister of Transport did not hesitate to attack Rajoy, blaming him because he did not have “even the political fitness to resign.”
A diatribe that Rajoy fully attacked, on that occasion, Abalos He even said that the Popular Party had created a “whole circle of corruption” by covering it up with “tricks and tricks.”. The former PSOE third man declared that the PP did not care much about the country and Spain, to loud applause from the Socialist bench who proudly witnessed the monologue, and that they were only concerned with the party’s survival. Abalos insisted that they were not interested in “weakening or damaging the image” of the institutions: “They take the ball away and leave us all without a ball or a goal, they dismantle it.”
Rajoy listened carefully to nearly 50 minutes of Abalos’ intervention and when it was his turn to respond, he asked several questions, but today there is one of particular importance. “Mr. Abalos, are you in a position to ensure that you and all your colleagues stand for election without any illegal financing?”The former president asked to confirm that corruption does not know ideologies and that it exists everywhere, whether we like it or not.
“Mr. Abalos, are you in a position to ensure that you and all your colleagues stand for election without any illegal financing?”
Mariano Rajoy
Former Prime Minister
The former leader of the People’s Party contested the moral authority of Ábalos because of the corruption that was plaguing the PSOE at the time, especially because of the ERE affair: “Mr. Albalus, can you explain to this council what moral authority you speak with? With which one? With what moral authority? “Are you probably Teresa of Calcutta, Mr. Abalos?” He scolded him. “Mr. Hello, corruption, as you well know because it is very close to you, is everywhere. It knows no neighborhoods, no flags, no sects. What shall I tell you when you do not know it! For you to come and give lessons, you must be in a position to give them; if not, it is better to remain quiet,” he scolded him.
“Mr. Albalus, can you explain to this council what moral authority you speak with? With which one? With what moral authority? Are you perhaps Theresa of Calcutta, Mr. Abalos?
Mariano Rajoy
Former Prime Minister
Rajoy’s speech currently sounds like a warning that, looking back, there are some questions to which there are already some answers and many other unknowns.
A milestone in the history of democracy: Abalos, the first MP to go to prison
Seven years later, Ábalos’ speech turned against him. He became the former Minister of Transport The first representative in the history of democracy entered prison on charges of fraud in awarding public contracts to purchase masks amid the pandemic.
His defense said that his detention pending trial, without conviction, would constitute a violation of his right to political representation. The judge in the case proposed that Abalos, as well as Koldo Garia and Victor de Aldama, be tried for a period of time Collecting alleged commissions in exchange for granting them to Management Solutions Contracts for the purchase of medical supplies during the Covid crisis.
The Public Prosecution requests Abalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison and Koldo was sentenced to 19 and a half years On charges of belonging to a criminal organization, bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement, and using confidential information. The Public Ministry is also concerned with a fine of approximately 3.9 million euros. The popular charges require 30-year prison sentences for both Abalos and Koldo.