After waiting for days to make a statement, prime minister Mariano Rajoy stepped up to the plate with a fuzzy denial on Saturday following an emergency meeting of the Popular Party’s executive committee.
"This is all false. I'm not in politics for money. I have never received undeclared money" said Rajoy.
Questions Abound
- Where did the slush fund money come from?
- Who were the recipients?
- What were the totals?
- Were the payments legal?
- Did Rajoy really pay taxes on all of it?
The reference to "undeclared money" went away in firmer denial from Rajoy, "Never, I repeat never, did I receive or hand out black money, not in this party nor anywhere else".
I am not positive of the order of those denials, but based on article timestamps, I believe I have them in the right order.
Adding fat to the denial fire, accounting books allegedly written and kept by Luis Bárcenas, the former PP treasurer, implicate Rajoy personally, to the tune of €322,231.
Meanwhile, anger is mounting and police barricaded the PP headquarters in response to gathering groups of protesters.
Anger Rises
The Financial Times reports Anger rises as scandal rocks Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy waited more than two days to comment on the slush fund scandal threatening to engulf both the Spanish prime minister and his Popular party. When the denial finally came, it was firm and unequivocal. “Never, I repeat never, did I receive or hand out black money, not in this party nor anywhere else,” Mr Rajoy declared over the weekend.Document Snapshot
Reminding Spanish voters of his decision to drop a lucrative career as a property notary decades ago, Mr Rajoy said on Saturday: “I didn’t enter politics to make money. I entered politics losing money.”
His assurances, however, did nothing to silence the rising popular anger over alleged secret payments to senior members of Mr Rajoy’s centre-right Popular party, which has been rocked by a stream of embarrassing revelations over the past days. Hours after he spoke, riot police cordoned off the streets around the PP headquarters in central Madrid in preparation for the latest in a wave of small but widespread demonstrations against political corruption.
Asked whether they approve of Mr Rajoy, 77 per cent of Spaniards say no. The poll appeared alongside a fresh batch of revelations, after the paper decided to publish extensive excerpts of accounting books allegedly written and kept by Luis Bárcenas, the former PP treasurer. According to the latest report, the books record 35 payments to Mr Rajoy himself worth a total of €322,231 between 1997 and 2008.
La Razon reports The PP will commission a survey of the supposed "roles" Barcenas
In the alleged notes of former PP treasurer Luis Barcenas striking that the font is the same for all entries, which would mean that he would have written Barcenas year after year with the same layout. It is as if the author had aimed names and figures in one sitting all data as belonging to different dates and spaced in time.
Documents Real?
Press Euro reports ‘The PP demands expert analysis of the Bárcenas documents to prove they are fake’
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s People's Party (PP) wants to submit the original copies of the secret financial notes alleged to have been written by his former treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, to experts in order to determine whether they are genuine.Curious Defense
According to the account records, published by El País, key members of the PP received additional undeclared payments between 1990 and 2008. Mariano Rajoy has said publicly that he has "never" received any undeclared money ...
Well here we are again, with a sideshow on whether the money was declared or not. Moreover, and more importantly, with all the names and dates, it should be known 100% without a doubt whether the entries are accurate or not.
If indeed Rajoy, did declare all the income, then it should be easily seen in tax records. So what did Rajoy declare on taxes?
Do the numbers match? If not, why not? Instead we have a pair of sideshows regarding a font and whether or not the money was declared.
If the documents were fake, would the matter need to be studied or would the PP would come straight out and declare, "the documents are fake"?
Moreover, if the documents were fake (and perhaps even if they weren't), it would be in Bárcenas' best interest to challenge their authenticity.
So, where is the statement from Bárcenas that they are fake?
Instead, Bárcenas threatened to set off a political "atom bomb" if convicted. If everyone is innocent, then it is logically impossible to set off a political bomb of any size, let alone an "atom bomb".
Simply put, the denials do not add up.
For more on the scandal, the denials, the "atom bomb" threat, and Rajoy's effort to squash the news, please see Big Brother in Action: EU Wants Power to Sack Journalists; Prime Minister Rajoy Threatens Newspapers Following Corruption Articles.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
