Spain Papers Review - Wednesday October 28 2009

Spain Papers Review - Wednesday October 28 2009
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By h.b. - Oct 28, 2009 - 9:04 AM
A new town linked to corruption scandals in Spain – Santa Coloma – dominates the front pages today

Today's Público

El Mundo headlines ‘Emblematic figures from the PSC Catalan Socialist Party and Catalan party CiU united by corruption’. The paper notes that among those arrested in Santa Coloma is the Mayor, Bartomeu Muñoz, who is also a member of the Socialist Federal Committee. His town planning councillor is also detained. Judge Garzón has accused them of collecting commissions from constructors, money laundering, influence peddling and fiscal crime.
El País highlights the role of Garzón and says that a Socialist Mayor and two ex top people in the Pujol administration are among the eight arrest. The paper says the corrupt group made 20 million € with the reclassification of land.
ABC says that corruption has reached the heart of the Catalan Socialists and CiU.
La Razón tells us the new case is called ‘Operación Pretoria’ and notes that top members of the Pujol administration and Catalan Socialist party have been arrested for corruption. The paper says the investigation started in 2007 from a money laundering alert.
Público gives more details and headlines that millions of Euros flew from Santa Coloma to the financial haven of Jersey.
Meanwhile El Mundo notes that Congress has agreed unanimously to toughen up the punishments for corruption.
La Vanguardia, printed in Barcelona, reports that those arrested in the case will appear before Judge Garzón on Friday. Both La Vaguardia and El Periódico give the case wide coverage as you would expect in Cataluña.

The other main story is the football with the 4-0 defeat of Real Madrid by lowly Alcorcón in the King’s Cup last night.
El Mundo has the headline, ‘Galactic Alcorcón, Marciano Pellegrini’.
La Razón says that Alcorcón have shamed Real Madrid, and that the Madrid side were dreadful.
Público says that Real Madrid were humiliated.
ABC notes that Alcorcón is a team of ‘mileuristas’ – in other words they each earn no more than 1,000 € a month.

Big story number three is the fighting in the PP in Madrid. El Mundo headlines that Esperanza Aguirre will agree a deal on the new chairman of Caja Madrid, if Rajoy takes action against the Deputy Mayor, Manuel Cobo. It comes after he attacked her in an interview in El País over the weekend. El Mundo also notes that 73 PP mayors in the Madrid region are demanding disciplinary measures against the Mayor’s Gallardón’s number two.
El País says that Aguirre has demanded Cobo’s head from Rajoy, before she talks about Rodrigo Rato, Rajoy’s candidate for the Caja Madrid.
ABC says she will accept Rato if Cobo is dealt with harshly.
But La Razón tells us she will not accept Rato even if Cobo is sanctioned.
Público has probably got it right when it says that consensus in the naming of Rodrigo Rato has not been reached.
El País has a photo of four economy minister from 26 years of history in Spain, at a book presentation yesterday. Rato coincided with the three Socialists, Pedro Solbes, Miguel Boyer and Carlos Solchaga.

El Mundo notes that income from VAT/IVA in Spain is falling rapidly and says is now only enough to cover the wages and fixed costs of the State. The paper notes the state deficit has multiplied five fold over the past year.
La Razón says it now stands at 62.78 billion €.

ABC says that a proposal from the Basque Nationalist Party, PNV, has been supported in Congress with 172 votes in favour and 167 against with 2 abstentions. They want to see three ministries closed and the elimination of a vice presidency.

In international stories
El Mundo has a report from the International Criminal Court where Radovan Karadzic has again failed to appear in his case. The paper highlights a quote from the ex Yugoslav leader from 1991 – ‘Sarajevo will be a cooker where 300,000 Muslims will disappear’.

El País reports that the smaller countries in the EU are lining up to oppose Tony Blair becoming the European President. The paper notes that the Luxembourg prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, launched his candidacy yesterday and has the support of the Benelux countries.

El País notes that the EU Energy Agency has criticized Spain for help being given to the coal industry. They say the measures go against Kioto and against what the EU has ordered.

El Mundo notes that Mitterrand’s son has been sent to prison for two years for arms trafficking.

And finally
Miguel Bosé is interviewed in El Mundo today. The top Spanish singer says ‘Artists are an endangered species, just like polar bears’.

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