Ábalos' whatsapps could already have serious legal consequences for Pedro Sánchez

In recent days, the newspaper El Mundo has published a series of WhatsApp messages between Pedro Sánchez and José Luis Ábalos.

'Free Bego', the exhibitionism of a sect that is already imitating Putin and Lukashenko
Sánchez lied: he knew for a month that his wife was being investigated for corruption

So far, these messages have made clear Sánchez's authoritarian attitude within his party, his contempt and distrust towards his partners in Unidas Podemos (the far-left wing of the government), and his lack of respect for his Minister of Defense. None of this should have any judicial repercussions, one way or another: neither for Sánchez, since the attitude he displays in those messages is worthy of criticism but does not constitute a crime, nor for the media outlet that published those messages, since everything points to the leaker being the former Minister of Transport.

Sánchez's intervention in the Air Europa bailout

Things change with the messages published yesterday by El Mundo, which indicate that Sánchez intervened in the bailout of the airline Air Europa five days after a call to his wife from a businessman implicated in the Koldo Case corruption plot, a matter being investigated by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. That call would have led to the government bailout of that airline, a bailout that, as the aforementioned newspaper pointed out yesterday, was obtained "in record time", since "it was processed at a speed five times faster than average" from the Strategic Company Solvency Support Fund, created by the government to help companies affected by the 2020 pandemic.

Begoña Gómez's role in the bailout of Air Europa

Let us remember that Judge Juan Carlos Peinado is investigating Begoña Gómez for influence peddling and business corruption for the advantages obtained by companies with which she was linked. In April of last year, El Mundo noted:

"The activities of the Prime Minister's wife have also been called into question due to her relationship with Globalia, which sponsored Begoña Gómez's career and obtained government support to rescue her airline, Air Europa, with more than 600 million euros in public funds."

Messages that could have legal repercussions for Sánchez

Pedro Sánchez's personal involvement in this operation, in coordination with his then Transport Minister, José Luis Ábalos, changes things. These messages could have judicial consequences for Sánchez, and serious ones, since they are an indication that could serve to have Sánchez officially investigated for the same two aforementioned crimes for which the judge is investigating the wife of the president of the government. What is clear is that a year ago Sánchez lied when he said there was no case, but he was right when he spoke of "mud": yes there is, and he is the one who has covered the presidency of the government with it.

Beyond the judicial dimension of the case, it is a disgrace for Spain to have a prime minister implicated in a scandal like this, even if this case is just one more episode in the already long tradition of political corruption by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since it first came to power in the 1980s. These were the people who said in 2018 that they were coming to regenerate democracy and fight corruption...

---

Photo: PSOE.