It is hard to overstate the gravity of the crises that afflict the governance of Spain, and contribute to the instability of the euro zone.The key elements are familiar: a massive property bubble, inflated by a rogue banking system and chronically corrupt regional administrations; unprecedented and rising unemployment; the collapse of the Socialist Party (PSOE), and the near total concentration of power in the reins of the conservative Partido Popular (PP); austerity policies that have sparked mass extraparliamentary opposition and spurred on Catalan and Basque independence movements; a judiciary moribund and politicised; and a monarchy tarnished by allegations of graft.
Just when it seemed things could not get worse, a corruption scandal that has long undermined the governing PP has escalated. It now implicates not only several cabinet members but the prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and his influential predecessor José María Aznar. Last week, a series of detailed accounting notes, alleged to have been made by the PP’s former treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, were published by El País. The notes purport to show that Rajoy, Aznar, and several colleagues were paid undeclared extra salaries over a decade, funded by illegal donations from developers of dubious reputation.
The impact on a public already very angry at unequally applied austerity measures can easily be imagined. Characteristically, Rajoy has stonewalled, denying any wrongdoing by himself or his party, and refusing opposition demands for an explanation to parliament, or a parliamentary investigation. The evidence looks damning to the PP. And since there is no credible alternative to the current government, this is a daunting prospect for Spain, and for Europe.