Deutsche Welle, 31 January 2013
Corruption
wasn't openly discussed in Spain for years, but now as many struggle
economically the issue is coming to the fore. However, the big question of
whether anything will change remains.
Rodrigo
Rato is both happy and worried. The former Spanish economic minister and
International Monetary Fund director recently landed a job as a consultant to
Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica but has also been hauled into court
for his mismanagement of Spain's second largest savings bank, Caja Madrid.
Telefonica
has found work for a number of other high-profile Spaniards who have gotten
into trouble, including Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of Spanish King Juan
Carlos, and Eduardo Yaplana, the former head of the provincial government in
Valencia and the man many blame for the region's precarious financial situation
and dependence on state aid.
Telefonica's
entanglement with politics goes even further. Shortly after the conservative
party Partido Popular took control of the government, the company hired the
husband of deputy prime minister, Soraya Senz.
Daily media
coverage
For the
past several weeks, the Spanish media has been giving nearly daily coverage to
corruption in the country after nearly ignoring the issue for years.
 |
| Martin: 'Something is being swept under the carpet' |
"Over
the past few weeks, several scandals have emerged, but Spaniards have remained
relatively calm," said Spanish lawyer Esther Martin. "With
unemployment hovering at 26 percent, many fear for their jobs and prefer to
keep quiet about irregularities in the conduct of their business employers.
"There's
a justified impression that something is being swept under the carpet,"
said Martin.
Tax
consultant Carlos Alaiz criticized a recently introduced tax amnesty for
Spaniards who agree to return their wealth from abroad.
"This
is absurd, given the fact that every other tax evader not only has to take
responsibility for such behavior but must also pay the full rate - not the 10
percent tax amnesty," Alaiz said.
Around 730
Spanish politicians are currently involved in corruption cases, according to
local media. During the construction boom, payoffs to local governments were
the order of the day.
"Spain
remains a top address for money laundering," says Paola Del Vecchio, an
Italian journalist who has been writing about organized crime for years.
Little
trust in government
The
corruption scandals come at a time when Spain is experiencing its worst
economic crisis since the end of its dictatorship. But Spaniards have little
trust in their government's pledge to fight corruption.
 |
| Spaniards take to the street to protest against politicians |
"We've
been waiting for months for an answer from the government about what it's doing
about the shadow economy, misappropriation of public funds and
corruption," said Victoria Anderica from Access info Europe, an
organization that campaigns for more transparency in Europe. She would like to
see the planned new Spanish Transparency Act, which aims to create stronger
public control over economic and bureaucratic processes, also regulate party
finances. Currently, only the money movements of selected politicians are
monitored.
German
financial expert Frank Abegg, who has worked for decades in the Spanish banking
sector, said the problem with rising corruption in Spain is the slow pace of
the justice system.
"The
administration is so slow that the defendants have enough time to cover their
tracks before the court proceedings," he said, adding that a case like the
one involving a raid of Deutsche Bank without warning would be unthinkable in
Spain.
Need for
greater transparency
The Spanish
media repeatedly criticizes the lack of independence of the country's justice
system. They accuse it of being a pawn of politics. And there is currently much
debate about the restraint of democratic institutions such as the Court of
Auditors.
 |
| Many complain about the independence of state institutions |
"We
definitely need more transparency in all areas of public life," said
Miguel Cordoba. The economist, who teaches at a private university in Madrid
and who is also in charge of the finances of a company, said he believes that
many businesses have extremely creative accounting practices. Even large
corporations follow a very liberal interpretation of tax rules that border the
legal limits.
Spanish
author Leon Arsenal said the country's courts can't finalize judgments because
of the intertwining of business with the state. "It often comes to bankers
being pardoned and many processes being dropped," he said.
Arsenal
said he thinks even the country's unions have been bought. That's why he wants
to launch a new political left movement as an alternative to Spain's two large
parties, the PSOE and PP, which have been in control since the end of the
dictatorship.
"We
need to tear everything down and rebuild it properly," he said.
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