
EXPLAINED: Fresh corruption scandal hits Spain's opposition party
As The Local has covered in detail, ongoing corruption allegations surrounding Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez's inner-circle have in recent months left his government teetering on the edge. For many political pundits, it was a question of when rather than if the government would fall.
Allegations against Sánchez's wife, brother, attorney general and two former right-hand men made his position seem untenable and opposition parties have furiously demanded his resignation and called for early elections.
But now the Spanish right has been implicated in its own major corruption network. The opposition Partido Popular (PP), who were until last week making great use of the scandals as a political weapon, has found itself engulfed in their own rather embarrassing set of allegations that threatens to undo all that political momentum and, infuriatingly for them, hand Sánchez and the Spanish left a lifeline just when they thought he couldn't fight on for much longer.
Cristóbal Montoro, Spain's former Finance Minister in the right-wing Rajoy government of 2011-2015 that preceded Sánchez, has been charged with creating "a network of influence" and taking kickbacks to favour gas companies that hired his law firm. He previously also served as Finance Minister in the Aznar government.
Montoro is among more than 20 accused, including senior treasury officials, of receiving at least €11 million from energy companies for favourable government policy.
Back in 2004 when the PP lost power to the Socialists (PSOE), Montoro left his post. He briefly became a Member of the European Parliament that same year, and in 2006 he founded a law firm, initially called Montoro y Asociados, later renamed Equipo Económico, with four former senior officials from his ministry. That firm is now at the centre of the plot.
Montoro returned to national politics as an MP in 2008 and left the firm. In 2011, the PP returned to power and Montoro was once again appointed Minister of Finance. During this time, Montoro's former office and his partners allegedly influenced several senior ministerial appointments.
This allegedly led to changes in legislation, centring on lowered tax commitments, to benefit gas companies that were clients of Montoro's firm, according to the court order accessed by Spanish daily El País: "In exchange for significant payments, they intervened decisively in legislative reforms [...] in accordance with the interests of their clients," it says.
The investigation, which is still underway, has also found evidence that Equipo Económico charged 'commissions' from electricity and renewable energy companies to 'influence the decisions' of the government.
The Guardian reports that Rajoy was told of Montoro's alleged dealings but did not take action.
In the short-term, the investigations have wrong footed the current PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo's main political attack line by allowing Sánchez and the Spanish left to claim the Spanish right is the real party of corruption, or at the very least that their attack lines are hollow and hypocritical.
Crucially, the allegations give Sánchez some breathing room as he tries to sure up support among his parliamentary partners and ensure his government lasts a full second term. Elections aren't slated in Spain until 2027.
However, that both of Spain's two great partidos del estado are simultaneously caught up in serious corruption allegations does little to help long-held political disenchantment among Spanish voters.
It likely boosts the far-right, too. Dissatisfaction with Spain's two main parties gives greater opportunity for far-right Vox, surging in the polls already, to portray the Spanish system as broken and in need of something new.

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EXPLAINED: Fresh corruption scandal hits Spain's opposition party
Another week, another major corruption scandal rocking the upper-echelons of Spanish politics. As The Local has covered in detail, ongoing corruption allegations surrounding Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez's inner-circle have in recent months left his government teetering on the edge. For many political pundits, it was a question of when rather than if the government would fall. Allegations against Sánchez's wife, brother, attorney general and two former right-hand men made his position seem untenable and opposition parties have furiously demanded his resignation and called for early elections. But now the Spanish right has been implicated in its own major corruption network. The opposition Partido Popular (PP), who were until last week making great use of the scandals as a political weapon, has found itself engulfed in their own rather embarrassing set of allegations that threatens to undo all that political momentum and, infuriatingly for them, hand Sánchez and the Spanish left a lifeline just when they thought he couldn't fight on for much longer. Cristóbal Montoro, Spain's former Finance Minister in the right-wing Rajoy government of 2011-2015 that preceded Sánchez, has been charged with creating "a network of influence" and taking kickbacks to favour gas companies that hired his law firm. He previously also served as Finance Minister in the Aznar government. Montoro is among more than 20 accused, including senior treasury officials, of receiving at least €11 million from energy companies for favourable government policy. Back in 2004 when the PP lost power to the Socialists (PSOE), Montoro left his post. He briefly became a Member of the European Parliament that same year, and in 2006 he founded a law firm, initially called Montoro y Asociados, later renamed Equipo Económico, with four former senior officials from his ministry. That firm is now at the centre of the plot. Montoro returned to national politics as an MP in 2008 and left the firm. In 2011, the PP returned to power and Montoro was once again appointed Minister of Finance. During this time, Montoro's former office and his partners allegedly influenced several senior ministerial appointments. This allegedly led to changes in legislation, centring on lowered tax commitments, to benefit gas companies that were clients of Montoro's firm, according to the court order accessed by Spanish daily El País: "In exchange for significant payments, they intervened decisively in legislative reforms [...] in accordance with the interests of their clients," it says. The investigation, which is still underway, has also found evidence that Equipo Económico charged 'commissions' from electricity and renewable energy companies to 'influence the decisions' of the government. The Guardian reports that Rajoy was told of Montoro's alleged dealings but did not take action. In the short-term, the investigations have wrong footed the current PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo's main political attack line by allowing Sánchez and the Spanish left to claim the Spanish right is the real party of corruption, or at the very least that their attack lines are hollow and hypocritical. Crucially, the allegations give Sánchez some breathing room as he tries to sure up support among his parliamentary partners and ensure his government lasts a full second term. Elections aren't slated in Spain until 2027. However, that both of Spain's two great partidos del estado are simultaneously caught up in serious corruption allegations does little to help long-held political disenchantment among Spanish voters. It likely boosts the far-right, too. Dissatisfaction with Spain's two main parties gives greater opportunity for far-right Vox, surging in the polls already, to portray the Spanish system as broken and in need of something new.


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Disinformation catalyses anti-migrant unrest in Spain
Last weekend's unrest in the southeastern town of Torre Pacheco pitted far-right groups against immigrant residents, mainly of Moroccan origin, but a heavy police presence prevented serious confrontations. The altercations were sparked after a 68-year-old pensioner said three men of North African origin attacked him without provocation on July 9. Two days later, the conservative-led city council organised a protest against insecurity, which quickly escalated when far-right groups joined with hostile slogans against immigrants. That day, and for several nights, riots broke out in the streets of the southeastern city of 40,000. Authorities have arrested 14 people, including three suspected of involvement in the attack on the retiree. Also among those detained is the leader of the far-right "Deport Them Now" group, who allegedly called for a "hunt" of migrants on social media. The sudden outbreak of violence took Spain by surprise but anti-migrant discourse had already been brewing, partly due to disinformation circulating on social media. AFP's digital verification team in Spain has debunked many false claims linked to immigrants, mostly concerning public benefits they supposedly receive and alleged attacks by foreigners on Spanish customs. For Alexandre Lopez Borrull, a professor in communication and information science at the Open University of Catalonia, disinformation in such cases is "the fuel and the spark at the same time". The narrative "is fuelled over a long period of time" and when a specific event occurs, it can act as a spark in scenarios like the one that played out in Torre Pacheco, he said. A video purporting to show the assault on the pensioner, along with a list of alleged attackers, quickly circulated online -- both debunked by AFP. Elisa Brey, a sociology professor at Madrid's Complutense University, likened the phenomenon to criminals setting off wildfires. "It's hot, there's a temperature alert, and an arsonist passes by and throws a match. That is what happens with disinformation," she said. Aim to destabilise Experts also emphasised the role of politicians, particularly the far-right Vox party, in fanning the flames of anti-migrant rhetoric. Vox has long connected immigration to crime and recently proposed, echoing other EU political parties and far-right activists, that some migrants be deported as part of a broad "remigration" plan. Foreigners make up 14 percent of Spain's population, up from only 1.6 percent in 1998. In events like the violent protests in Torre Pacheco, malicious discourse seeps through different layers of social media before erupting into the public sphere, Brey explained. First, it simmers at an "underlying" level on less visible platforms like Telegram, before jumping to more popular networks such as X and TikTok. Politicians then amplify the message through public statements, she said. Vox's leader in the southeastern Murcia region, which includes Torre Pacheco, blamed the unrest on "illegal immigration", claiming that migrants had assaulted the elderly and committed sexual violence against women. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into his comments to determine if they constitute a hate crime. Social media was used in a way that, "in the end, it led to these events", added Marcelino Madrigal, an expert in online platforms and cybersecurity. Madrigal also detected that parties were shifting their position on immigration with an eye on political gain at a time of speculation about early elections in Spain. "With disinformation about immigration, the aim is to destabilise a government or a country as well as present yourself as an alternative to save us from a problem that does not exist," he said.