Spain's Ombudsman and the €600-a-day dining bill of Gabilondo's brother
Over €600 a day on food: the spending of Gabilondo's brother as head of Spain's Ombudsman, and the waste by regional ombudsmen.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
More than €600 a day on food: Gabilondo's brother and his post
How much does it cost to eat when the taxpayer picks up the bill? The figure circulating about Iñaki Gabilondo's brother and his time as head of the Defensor del Pueblo (Spain's parliamentary ombudsman) points to more than €600 a day in restaurant expenses. Put in perspective, that is the monthly salary of a large part of Spaniards spent on seafood antiestéticasts and business lunches in just a few days.
The issue has jumped into the public conversation through a video spread on YouTube, and that is where the first tussle begins: the legitimacy of the source. Against those who demand verification from conventional press, the answer is blunt: are public television and radio any more reliable? Distrust of traditional media is today the starting point, not an objection.
The butcher's son from San Sebastián argument
There is a detail that adds context and a touch of irony: the journalist's brother was the son of a butcher from San Sebastián, and at home, it is claimed, such things were never seen. Humble origins as a contrast to later extravagance. It is the classic tale of someone who rises and forgets where they came from.
The defence, when it appears, has its comic side: you cannot defend the people on an empty stomach. And if it has to be done after a good seafood antiestéticast, so much the better. Irony becomes an argument: the post demands strength, and strength is built on café con leche, a slice of ham omelette and cheese.
Rajoy's lunchbox as a mirror
The most acid comparison comes from another direction. Rajoy was showered with criticism for not saying the word "lunchbox", over that episode with the fridge and the sandwich. The double standard, some argue, is obvious: what in some is ridiculed austerity, in others is tolerated waste.
And the question hanging in the air: can they not bring a tupperware or a sandwich from home? The implicit answer is no, that the institution has its protocol and its ways. The protocol, of course, is always paid for by the same people.
The Defensor del Pueblo and its regional siblings
The focus widens. It is not just the national Defensor del Pueblo: there are regional ombudsmen too, each with their perks and fat salaries, loyal to the parties that placed them. Nine autonomous regions maintain the figure, and the Catalan Síndic takes the prize with almost €132,000 a year. The whole regional network amounts to a waste of €33 million a year.
There lies the real racket: a network of institutional posts justified as defending the citizen while the citizen pays the bill. The ombudsman as an ornamental figure, with an executive salary and banquet allowances.
The conclusion, if there is one, is dropped by someone with a wry streak: with the antiestéticasts he enjoys and how well they are watered, how could he not support the government. Defending the people, it seems, is best done on a full stomach and someone else's tab.
How much does it cost to eat when the taxpayer picks up the bill? The figure circulating about Iñaki Gabilondo's brother and his time as head of the Defensor del Pueblo (Spain's parliamentary ombudsman) points to more than €600 a day in restaurant expenses. Put in perspective, that is the monthly salary of a large part of Spaniards spent on seafood antiestéticasts and business lunches in just a few days.
The issue has jumped into the public conversation through a video spread on YouTube, and that is where the first tussle begins: the legitimacy of the source. Against those who demand verification from conventional press, the answer is blunt: are public television and radio any more reliable? Distrust of traditional media is today the starting point, not an objection.
The butcher's son from San Sebastián argument
There is a detail that adds context and a touch of irony: the journalist's brother was the son of a butcher from San Sebastián, and at home, it is claimed, such things were never seen. Humble origins as a contrast to later extravagance. It is the classic tale of someone who rises and forgets where they came from.
The defence, when it appears, has its comic side: you cannot defend the people on an empty stomach. And if it has to be done after a good seafood antiestéticast, so much the better. Irony becomes an argument: the post demands strength, and strength is built on café con leche, a slice of ham omelette and cheese.
Rajoy's lunchbox as a mirror
The most acid comparison comes from another direction. Rajoy was showered with criticism for not saying the word "lunchbox", over that episode with the fridge and the sandwich. The double standard, some argue, is obvious: what in some is ridiculed austerity, in others is tolerated waste.
And the question hanging in the air: can they not bring a tupperware or a sandwich from home? The implicit answer is no, that the institution has its protocol and its ways. The protocol, of course, is always paid for by the same people.
The Defensor del Pueblo and its regional siblings
The focus widens. It is not just the national Defensor del Pueblo: there are regional ombudsmen too, each with their perks and fat salaries, loyal to the parties that placed them. Nine autonomous regions maintain the figure, and the Catalan Síndic takes the prize with almost €132,000 a year. The whole regional network amounts to a waste of €33 million a year.
There lies the real racket: a network of institutional posts justified as defending the citizen while the citizen pays the bill. The ombudsman as an ornamental figure, with an executive salary and banquet allowances.
The conclusion, if there is one, is dropped by someone with a wry streak: with the antiestéticasts he enjoys and how well they are watered, how could he not support the government. Defending the people, it seems, is best done on a full stomach and someone else's tab.
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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 (15 replies).
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