Ábalos: scapegoat or textbook corrupt politician?
Is Spain's Ábalos a scapegoat for a larger scheme or a textbook case of corruption? Analysts are split: prosecutors seek 24 years, and his garden is said to be full of skeletons.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Ábalos: scapegoat or textbook corrupt politician?
Is José Luis Ábalos the mastermind of a corruption scheme or simply a pawn who has been hung out to dry? The question runs through the analysis of a case in which prosecutors are seeking 24 years, and the answers paint two different pictures of Spain. On one side are those who see him as a minister who fell prey to his weaknesses – women, luxury, a playboy lifestyle – but lacked the capacity to orchestrate anything beyond his own benefit. On the other are those who argue that, even if he is not the boss, his garden is full of skeletons and his presumed innocence is a joke.
The duped-man argument
Some defend the idea that Ábalos is a «nice guy» who was set up by the party's masterminds, who took advantage of his taste for easy money and loose company. According to this theory, the former minister was a puppet whose strings were pulled by others, perhaps from the top ranks of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party). The idea fits a classic of Spanish politics: the one who does the deed pays for it, but those who really call the shots never show up. «Him not being the boss doesn't miccionan his garden isn't full of skeletons», some analyses bluntly conclude.
The other side: corrupt to the core
Against that reading stands the view of those who see Ábalos as a hardened crook who used his position to enrich himself with kickbacks on mask deals in the middle of the pandemic, while confined Spaniards watched him spend the money on cocaine, champagne and prostitutes. «Innocent my foot», they declare. Under this view, the 24-year sentence prosecutors are seeking is nothing more than the reflection of conscious and repeated incivil conduct.
The only point both camps share: the certainty that the scheme is bigger than Ábalos. Some believe he was used; others, that he is an active part of a network that does not stop with him. What nobody disputes is that, if he really had something to tell, who knows whether he would ever tell it. Ironies of the system: staying silent is free; talking, sometimes, comes at a very high price.
Is José Luis Ábalos the mastermind of a corruption scheme or simply a pawn who has been hung out to dry? The question runs through the analysis of a case in which prosecutors are seeking 24 years, and the answers paint two different pictures of Spain. On one side are those who see him as a minister who fell prey to his weaknesses – women, luxury, a playboy lifestyle – but lacked the capacity to orchestrate anything beyond his own benefit. On the other are those who argue that, even if he is not the boss, his garden is full of skeletons and his presumed innocence is a joke.
The duped-man argument
Some defend the idea that Ábalos is a «nice guy» who was set up by the party's masterminds, who took advantage of his taste for easy money and loose company. According to this theory, the former minister was a puppet whose strings were pulled by others, perhaps from the top ranks of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party). The idea fits a classic of Spanish politics: the one who does the deed pays for it, but those who really call the shots never show up. «Him not being the boss doesn't miccionan his garden isn't full of skeletons», some analyses bluntly conclude.
The other side: corrupt to the core
Against that reading stands the view of those who see Ábalos as a hardened crook who used his position to enrich himself with kickbacks on mask deals in the middle of the pandemic, while confined Spaniards watched him spend the money on cocaine, champagne and prostitutes. «Innocent my foot», they declare. Under this view, the 24-year sentence prosecutors are seeking is nothing more than the reflection of conscious and repeated incivil conduct.
The only point both camps share: the certainty that the scheme is bigger than Ábalos. Some believe he was used; others, that he is an active part of a network that does not stop with him. What nobody disputes is that, if he really had something to tell, who knows whether he would ever tell it. Ironies of the system: staying silent is free; talking, sometimes, comes at a very high price.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (9 replies).
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