Feijóo's yellow card fails to stop scrutiny of Ayuso's Madrid penthouse

Ayuso's penthouse: the yellow card that wasn't enough

The release of Diario Público's documentary about the Madrid regional premier's penthouse comes after Feijóo showed his yellow card to his own ranks. A public warning that has not stopped the media blow-up. Opinion is split between those who dismiss it as a hoax and those who turn it into a question of managing public funds. Few people talk about use any more; the debate has shifted to who ordered the purchase.

The defensive case rests on a blunt number: 0 minutes spent in the property. If nobody ever lived in the penthouse, what offence of use is there? The other camp's answer relies on an uncomfortable comparison: Zapatero's jewellery kept in a safe was never shown off, and nobody disputes that it was properly guarded. A kilo of goods seized at the border has not been consumed either, and it is still a problem. What matters is not the room, it is the origin of the money and the decision to buy it.

That brings up the question that overshadows everything: who ordered the acquisition? If it was not Ayuso, dismissing whoever was responsible would be the natural way out. If it was her, the demand to explain what the money was spent on becomes unavoidable. No official statement has answered. And the double standard hangs in the air: if the man at the centre of the scandal were called Óscar Puente, the pressure would be unbearable. The penthouse is still empty, the yellow card is now history, and the bill is being paid at both ends. At this point, the only thing that is clear is that the case is not closed.