Spain Press Review - Friday May 22 2009
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By h.b. - May 22, 2009 - 9:47 AM
The official start of campaigning in the European elections is underway, but it is corruption which dominates many front pages again

El Mundo notes that the Constutitional Court has re-instated the candidate list for the new Basque party led by the writer, Alfonso Sastre.
El País gives the story prominence and considers that the court could not find proof of a connection between the II-SP party and Batasuna, ETA’s outlawed political wing.
Público notes that the decision of the Constitutional Court was an unanimous one.

El Mundo has a photo from the general strike in the Basque region yesterday and shows how union members were shouting at a woman who was going to work at El Corte Inglés in Bilbao.
ABC has a dramatic photo of members of the regional Basque police force, La Ertzaitza, in line outside El Corte Inglés, and considers that Patxi López and his government won the day, describing the General Strike call as a complete failure.

All sorts of declarations and claims today in the Gürtel case and centring on the statement to the court by the tailor, José Tomás.
El Mundo says that the tailor has said that the Forever Young company, said to be at the centre of the alleged corruption, put pressure on him to say that Francisco Camps paid for his own suits.
El País simple says that the tailor told the judge that Camps did not pay for his suits, and it was Pablo Crespo who paid the facturas.

El Mundo, in the habit of attacking National Court judge, Baltasar Garzón, today headlines that a drug trafficker has made his escape and fled after being released because of the judge’s negligence.
The paper says the Turkish man, Sahin Eren, did not appear to register as he should have at the court for a month, and that the judge failed to issue a search and capture order. The paper says the trafficker faces a 12 year possible sentence and was released because his remand was not extended by the judge, and claims that the General Council for Judicial Power found Garzón not guilty as there did not appear to be any risk of flight.

Público leads with an exclusive today and says that the Head of the CEOE employers organisation, Gerardo Díaz Ferran, gave 246,000 € to the election campaign of Esperanza Aguirre for the Madrid regional government. The paper prints documents which show he made the donation despite the fact that there were public works contracts in play. The paper notes that under the laws on party financing receiving money, directly or indirectly, from companies which have current contracts with the administration is prohibited. Público says that other important businessmen donated nearly 800,000 € to the PP foundation which funded the Esperanza Aguirre campaign.

El Mundo notes that 58 soldiers are in quarantine in Madrid as an outbreak of Swine Flu has affected a military barracks. The paper says that six people have been admitted to the Gómez Ulla military hospital.
ABC says that there is alarm because of the outbreak and leads with the story. The paper says that the PP has said that there are 60 cases, the Ministry of Defence says five and the Ministry for Health has not confirmed anything.
El País leads with the story and says that dozens of soldiers have been isolated in the Madrid barracks, and notes that primary school children visited the site on Monday and Wednesday this week.

In international stories,
El País has a large photo from Baghdad where a new wave of car bombs has taken 66 lives. The photo shows a group of women mourning at a funeral.
The paper notes that Barack Obama has proclaimed that the United States lost its way in the Bush era, and htat Guantanamo prisoners will go to United States jails.
Several papers including El Mundo report that Barack Obama will not release the Guantanamo prisoners who are a danger, even though he cannot put them before a court. El Mundo considers the legal mess on the matter reached a new level yesterday.

Back in Spain ABC looks at the case of the Guadalajara forest fire which saw 11 fire-fighters lose their lives in 2005. The paper says the judge has indicted members of the Socialist leadership of the regional government and that the ex councillor for the Environment has now resigned, as has the number two in the government. Another seven technicians of the Junta de Castilla La Mancha are facing charges of negligent homicide.

And finally,
El Periódico, printed in Barcelona, says that Barça are to celebrate the Rome final at three different venues in the Catalan capital on Wednesday. There will be two other places in addition to the Plaza de Catalunya, and Antena Tres is putting up a hugh TV screen in the Maremàgnum.
What happens if they lose on Wednesday?

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