Ayuso and the €9,052,666 penthouse: the Hatchwell affair

The €9,052,666 penthouse haunting Ayuso and her mentor

The figure is exact: €9,052,666. That is the value of the penthouse that has set Madrid's political machinery in motion. According to reports circulating, the deal would have been handled through the Regional Government of Madrid, and the names attached are no small fry: David Hatchwell, mentor to Isabel Díaz Ayuso and executive at Excem, the company that brokered the purchase of the Pegasus spyware. The Madrid premier, for now, has not appeared in public.

Interpretations diverge. Some argue there is no wrongdoing: the penthouse belongs to the regional government and, at worst, could be rented out or kept in public hands, with no sale involved. Others counter that the matter should be taken to court and that the connection between Hatchwell, Excem and the Pegasus purchase should trigger an investigation. The mention of Astrid Gil-Casares, linked to the businessman's circle, adds yet another thread to the tangle.

What most irritates in the political analysis is not the price, but the treatment. While the left pays an electoral price for any property, the right seems immune: "corruption not only costs the right nothing, it actually wins them votes," sums up one current of opinion. It is also pointed out that Ayuso dominates RTVE's news coverage, which some see as exposure and others as scrutiny.

As of today, the matter remains open with no declared judicial consequences. The question is not whether the nine million are legal or not; the question is why the same case on the other side of the political divide would already have a parliamentary inquiry, while here it barely merits a press note. Some sum it up in one phrase: the boldness impunity brings. On this trajectory, silence has a price: exactly €9,052,666.