An hour and a half before José Luis Ábalos appeared in Congress to announce that he maintains his record as a deputy and that he will move to the Mixed Group, the press conference following the Tuesday Council of Ministers was held in La Moncloa. The coalition had a battery of new announcements under its belt – such as the approval of the Family Law project or new investments to modernize the tourism sector – but all eyes were on the Government’s first reaction after the ultimatum given by the PSOE to the former minister for the Koldo case, requesting him to resign from his deputy status within 24 hours. “This Government is implacable against corruption and impeccable in its behavior,” concluded the minister spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, dodging questions about the alleged mask purchase plot. In the afternoon, and once Ábalos’s refusal to resign from his seat was confirmed, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, criticized the challenge of his hitherto party partner with a long history in the organization. “A good socialist, and I have no doubt that José Luis is, he cannot go to the Mixed Group,” Puente indicated.
Privately, government sources defend that the Government has acted with total “speed” and “forcefulness” to stop the scandal. The PSOE took five days to ask for Ábalos’s resignation since his former advisor Koldo García Izaguirre was arrested. But the Executive justifies this period of time by appealing to a set agenda: first—on Friday—Vice President María Jesús Montero established the party’s position; Later—on Saturday—the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed the marked exit route to Ábalos; and, ultimately, the Federal Executive Commission waited until Monday—after the weekend and as a business day in Congress—to demand the deputy’s record in the face of his resistance and register the investigative commission in the Chamber. low. “Maximum transparency and exemplarity,” Pilar Alegría stressed this Tuesday. “The entire Government is committed to the fight against corruption,” added the Minister of Culture and leader of Sumar, Ernest Urtasun.
MARSHAL (EFE)
Despite the express request of the PSOE, Ábalos has decided to continue as a deputy and join the Mixed Group so as not to assume “guilt” that does not correspond to him, as he himself expressed in an appearance in Congress in which he was harsh with his party. . The PSOE immediately suspended him from membership.
Shortly after, Puente gave explanations to the Ministry of Transportation about the audit promoted by his department in State Ports and Adif to clarify the million-dollar purchase of masks in 2020. And he responded to Ábalos. “What is being asked of him is something very obvious, very evident: that he assume the political responsibility that he has had in the direct appointment of a person who has been with him who certainly has not been up to the standards of the Socialist Party and who “It has caused very serious damage to our initials,” said Puente. “A good socialist, and I have no doubt that José Luis is, he cannot go to the Mixed Group. He has to make a decision that lives up to his career as a politician. And this one, of course, is not,” he added. Regarding the ongoing investigation, Puente stated that “the practices were not the neatest, but what is relevant is whether someone took money for selling masks to the Administration.”
Government sources do not fear that the move to the Mixed Group of Ábalos implies that the former minister will share the meaning of the vote with the PP in the debates on parliamentary initiatives. And they insist on the “political responsibility” of the former minister as the basis for the resignation request.
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