In La Moncloa, in the ministries, in the offices of the various parties that make up the majority of the government, very strong words were heard as soon as it became known that the Supreme Court, with 5-2, condemned the attorney general for revealing secrets. Some feared it, others even took it for granted, but there were still many leaders, especially jurists, who thought that a conviction was impossible because there was no evidence, that there would be some trace of common sense and would have asked for acquittal even if with harsh rebukes to the prosecutor to cover themselves from criticism from the right.
But such a quick conviction, announced on November 20, by changing rapporteur – because the first one wanted to acquit -, with the obligation to pay 10,000 euros to Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s boyfriend, and what’s more without making his arguments known for 10 days, ended up causing indignation to explode throughout the progressive world.
Anger grew over the course of the day, and the Government went from an initial warning from Félix Bolaños, Minister of Justice, who called for calm despite having made it clear that the Executive does not agree with the sentence, and signaled a possible appeal to the Constitutional Court, to an outburst from Óscar López, Minister of Digital Transformation, on the night of Hora 25 on Cadena SER. “The Public Prosecutor is innocent, despite what the Supreme Court says. When I heard the sentence I felt very desolate. If they are able to convict someone without evidence, what will happen? Free someone with all the evidence? And I say this for someone who, to make matters worse, bought the penthouse yesterday,” said López, referring to Isabel Díaz’s partner Ayuso, who has just bought the penthouse above her luxury apartment, allegedly purchased thanks to a two million euro robbery euros. masks in the pandemic and in the 350 thousand tax fraud that gave rise to the case.
“It seems very serious to me. We are outraged by the injustice that the sentence represents, it is very depressing for the Democrats. This sentence sends a devastating message: don’t dare touch Ayuso, because you are moving forward. Either the people realize what is happening and rebel with their votes, or some will think of going unpunished”, concluded López.
In private, all the ministers consulted were very harsh from the first moment, although in public it was López and many hours after the sentence who gave his all. “They are not aware of what they have done. They destroy their own prestige, crush the image of justice and also reunite the progressive world. People are very angry. This unites. What they have done is a huge mistake,” a minister vented. “They had already decided before it started. That’s why it was so fast. It’s terrible. It’s a political sentence. With legal arguments it was impossible to convict him. Everyone saw the trial. They cause enormous damage to justice,” said another. “Now Ayuso and his partner, who defrauded the treasury of 350,000 euros, will celebrate in their new penthouse, which they bought this week, and will save 10,000 euros because the attorney general has to pay them. It’s incredible. It’s a mockery,” a third was indignant.
Gabriel Rufián, of the ERC, expresses what many in the progressive sectors think, not only in the government, but also among the partners: “Ayuso’s brother, 280,000 euros in commissions. Who gets it? Married. Ayuso’s boyfriend, 350,000. Who gets it? The attorney general. The message is clear: Ayuso can’t be touched.”
Pedro Sánchez also remained cautious, like his Justice Minister. The PSOE leader himself, who had spoken openly in an interview with EL PAÍS and said that “after seeing what was seen” in the trial, reiterated even more his idea of the prosecutor’s innocence, sent an indirect message and called for defending democracy “against those who believe they have the prerogative to protect it” and against “abuse of power”, implicitly citing the judges, but avoided blaming. At least for now, because the issue will continue, and Sánchez will have a press conference on Sunday in Johannesburg, for the G20, where he will have the opportunity to delve deeper.
And now? The Government ponders its decisions, letting its anger rest. Above all, several sources consulted insisted that there is not much room for action. The Attorney General must be fired in any case and a new one appointed. And this could be the first big message that answers the question: now what? The government is preparing a very quick replacement with a powerful name, which has not yet been defined, to quickly hit the table and convey a clear political message: “we remain the same”.
Bolaños announced that he will be a person “with a professional career and a legal qualification that guarantees that he will carry out this function with solvency”, which is very general, but several sources assume that it will be a person of absolute trust of the Executive with the intention of taking control of the Attorney General’s Office weakened for many months by the trial against García, which had greatly reduced its capacity to act and its credibility among prosecutors.
But beyond that blow to the table, mandatory because the attorney general must be replaced, the sources consulted do not see any other courageous move. Some government partners were calling for a power coup, even attempting to attack the CGPJ with a progressive majority in Congress, but none of this appears to be on the table.
The Government and the PP already agreed last year on the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, a difficult agreement that a year and a half later divided the CGPJ, and the progressive sector itself, especially since the conservatives have real control of this key body, which is the one that decides on appointments to the Supreme Court.
It is the control of the CGPJ by the right in one way or another over the last 30 years that explains why in all the halls of the Supreme Court, and even in the court that tried García Ortiz, the conservative majority is overwhelming. Nonetheless, some sectors expected that at least the president, Martínez Arrieta, would bet on acquittal, and therefore in the worst case there would be a 4-3. But in the end Martínez Arrieta also joined the sector that decided to condemn, including the great factotum of the Supreme Court in recent years, Manuel Marchena, and the result was a 5-2.
No one in the Government denies the gravity of the situation. “It’s very serious,” all the ministers from the various sectors consulted repeated one after the other. It is a clear clash between the Government, which defended the Public Prosecutor to the end and pressured him not to resign, and the Supreme Court, which decided to exaggerate with a highly contested sentence, deemed impossible by prestigious jurists due to the absence of evidence demonstrated during the trial and the undoubted testimonies of prestigious and established journalists who insisted on the fact that García Ortiz was not the source of the news of the plea offer to the prosecution and the recognition of his crimes by his boyfriend of Ayuso. The Executive is also concerned about this message addressed to serious journalists, who defended their professionalism before the Supreme Court and were not listened to, i.e. their credibility is questioned. This is why Bolaños specifically mentioned them and also the prosecutors and Treasury inspectors behind the trial against Ayuso’s partner.
While congressional spokesperson Patxi López said it was “a real shame,” partners were even more direct. And this was also one of the side effects of this controversial decision: a certain reunification of the majority, scandalized by the Supreme Court’s decision.
In Sumar, the other side of the coalition, they were blunt. “The conviction of the Attorney General is the clearest evidence that some sectors of the judiciary have decided to wage a political struggle against the government, the sentence can only be understood as an attempt to interfere in democratic life. This is a real judicial coup. We will not accept the rule of law being used to destabilize a legitimate government,” they noted. The idea of the soft coup spread widely this Thursday in different sectors of the government and among its partners, although officially the Executive avoided any reference to anything of the kind. “Criminalizing the Prosecutor’s Office is unfair. Criminalizing journalism is authoritarian. And we will always be on the side of democracy, truth and public institutions”, concluded Sumar. Compromís spoke openly of a “soft coup”.
The situation is critical and the Government has not said the last word. The issue is evolving, indignation is growing in the progressive world and the Executive is measuring its reaction, but the anger is increasing. The outburst of Óscar López, a veteran who usually measures his words very carefully, gives an idea of the atmosphere in the government. But now it is up to Sánchez to establish his position and above all to make decisions, the first of which will be who will replace García, a clear message in an open war between a sector of justice and the government.
