Cerdán's testimony on amnesty may cause CJEU to invalidate it

One of the challenges facing Spanish socialism is that it doesn't know how much damage it will suffer from those involved in its corruption scandals.

Socialist Santos Cerdán in prison: a good day to remember the manifesto of shame
Amnesty, the greatest act of corruption in the entire history of democracy in Spain

Getting rid of those implicated in these scandals poses a considerable risk to Pedro Sánchez, his government, and his party. How long will it take for their words to harm those they previously protected, once ties with the party have been severed? Yesterday, we were able to see a preview of the statement with which the until recently secretary of the PSOE organization, Santos Cerdán, has ended up in provisional prison for the possible commission of crimes of membership in a criminal organization, bribery, and influence peddling.

In this statement, Cerdán has acknowledged that he negotiated the amnesty with the Junts separatists because it was "essential to achieve Pedro Sánchez's investiture". This statement is more than evident, considering that before the re-election of the PSOE leader depended on the votes of Junts, Sánchez and his ministers had said that this measure was illegal and unconstitutional, an opinion that they completely changed when their permanence in power depended on this measure, with which Spanish socialism has perpetrated the biggest act of political corruption in the entire history of democracy in Spain.

The problem for Sánchez, his government and his party is that Cerdán's testimony destroys the socialist narrative about the amnesty, a narrative that assured us that "the purpose of the amnesty is to reduce the institutional and political tension generated by the events of the "procés" and facilitate a scenario of reconciliation", as the leftist majority of the Constitutional Court stated a few days ago in its scandalous decision to legitimize this measure clearly contrary to the Constitution, whose Article 62 expressly prohibits general pardons.

Cerdán's statement before the Supreme Court may have consequences beyond the mere propaganda story of the socialists. Let us remember that there are already several preliminary questions submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the amnesty, submitted by the National Court and by the Court of Auditors. If these preliminary rulings are successful, and they have a good chance of doing so, the CJEU could invalidate this amnesty.

We must remember that in 2019 the European Commission spoke out against so-called self-amnesties, in relation to an amnesty that the Romanian socialist government intended to approve and that would have benefited the then president of the Romanian Parliament, the socialist Livlu Dragnea, who was accused of embezzlement of public funds. Both that Romanian amnesty and Sánchez's amnesty had in common the erasure of corruption crimes. The Commission was firmer then than it has been with Sánchez and anticipated the measure, warning:

"These measures risk creating de facto impunity for crimes, including corruption, when Romania, like any other Member State, has an obligation to ensure that its judicial system is effective in prosecuting serious crimes."

A few weeks ago it became known that the Commission's lawyers have stated that the Spanish amnesty "appears to be a self-amnesty" and that it is contrary to "the principle of the rule of law", in a letter addressed to the CJEU for its decision on the aforementioned preliminary questions. Cerdán's testimony clearly demonstrates that the measure approved by Sánchez is a self-amnesty in which the government sought its own benefit, and not the lies about "normalization" and "reconciliation" that it spread to justify it.

As a testimony given in court by one of the socialist leaders who negotiated this measure, Cerdán's statement could invalidate the measure that secured Sánchez's reelection and on which his continued power depends. In addition to invalidating the unconstitutional erasure of the crimes of those convicted in the 2017 separatist coup in Catalonia, Cerdán's testimony could derail Sánchez's mandate. It now remains to be seen what further consequences Cerdán's future statements will have for the current prime minister and other members of his cabinet and party. Will we end up seeing Cerdán escorted to prison?

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Photo: PSOE. SAntonios Cerdán and Pedro Sánchez at the meeting they held on October 13, 2023, with the Junts separatists to obtain their support for Sánchez's reelection..