Business over Tapas Nº 592

A digest of this week's Spanish financial, political and social news aimed primarily at Foreign Property Owners:

Prepared by Lenox Napier.  Consultant: José Antonio Sierra

For subscriptions and other information about this site, go to businessovertapas.com

email:  [email protected]

***Now with Facebook Page (Like!)***

Note: Underlined words or phrases are links to the Internet. Right click and press 'Control' on your keyboard to access.

Business over Tapas and its writers are not responsible for unauthorised copying or other improper use of this material.

Subscription and e-mail information in our archives is never released to third parties.

Editorial Business over Tapas:

It looks like the Partido Popular has – inadvertently – handed a reprieve to the PSOE and their current troubles following the discovery of (yet again) a nest of bad eggs in their own barn.

Recently, we were talking of the abrupt fall of the Socialists’ party organiser Santos Cerdán, after he was found to be taking bribes from some Ibex-35 companies. He’s now in prison awaiting events.

We always knew that the other lot was full of crooks – several still in jail and many others due to attend court in the months to come. Why, the last PP government of Mariano Rajoy fell thanks precisely to corruption.

Conservatives (if you will forgive the generalisation) are known to be more interested in money than they are in helping the underprivileged. We barely raise an eyebrow when one of their politicians is caught with his hand in the till. It’s all part of the game. There’s a difference though, when one of the progressives, the defenders of the workers, a syndicalist, a man of the people (and so on…) pulls a fast one on both his party and his country.

See, that’s not good.

Going back to the Felipe Gonzalez years, the PSOE have had a few ministers in jail (José Barrionuevo and Rafael Vera), or – do you remember the party member from Zaragoza who was promoted to be head of the Guardia Civil, Luis Roldán, and who ended up with a fortune in Switzerland and was forced to make a run for it in 1994, eventually being caught in Bangkok to be jailed for 31 years? Not good. Later, the Andalusian wing of the party was found to be immersed in irregularities – two presidents of the Junta de Andalucía (Chaves and Griñán) plus a handful of others being found guilty in the ERE scandal.

But what of the Partido Popular? Aznar’s government at one time had a few bad eggs for sure: three of his ministers went to jail (Rodrigo Rato, Jaume Matas and Eduardo Zaplana), a couple of others managed to obtain pardons and now, after a secret judicial inquiry lasting several years (sometimes, these things can be more secret than others), another minister from those and later times, Cristóbal Montoro, the long-time Minister for Hacienda, has just been rumbled.

Montoro, who just a couple of weeks ago was seated up on the podium at the PP’s national congress, was a powerful party apparatchik who was not necessarily liked by his co-religionists: “He did a lot of damage, and now he’s going to do a lot more damage,” a PP council member says mournfully.

Montoro, the finance minister under both Aznar and Mariano Rajoy, now stands accused of the crimes of “bribery, fraud against the Public Administration, malfeasance, influence peddling, prohibited negotiations, business corruption and document falsification” for allegedly favouring, while he was Minister of Finance in Mariano Rajoy's government, gas companies that were clients of the law firm he founded in 2006’. He started a private legal firm which charged high sums to companies interested in Government-sponsored changes to their tax-burdens.

The Guardian says: ‘…It is alleged that Montoro established the “economic team”, a lawyer’s office linked to the finance ministry, which took kickbacks from gas and other energy companies in return for favourable government policy. It is further told that between 2008 and 2015 Montoro and 27 others accused, among them senior treasury officials, were paid at least eleven million euros by big energy companies. According to the police investigation led by the judge Rubén Rus, “the economic team received large commissions in return for its capacity to influence legislative and executive powers”’.

Other scams are coming out, like re-writing the worst excesses of the PP’s ‘black account’ before it reached the courts in 2020.

Montoro was evidently a big fish in the PP. He has now resigned from the party while maintaining his innocence. Over the weekend, two senior figures in Hacienda, both involved in the Montoro affair, were also dismissed.  

In passing – well done the judiciary for keeping this inquiry silent for a full seven years!

The advantage for the PP was already beginning to slip from their fingers, the accusations from the eccentric Judge Peinado against the wife of Pedro Sánchez notwithstanding.

In the months to come, no less than thirty major PP scandals will be brought to trial.

‘Public procurement rigging, bribe-taking, illegal urban development plans, influence peddling, irregular financing, even failure to provide assistance and negligent homicides; also the use of reserved funds for paramilitary operations…’ Plus the issues with Isabel Ayuso’s boyfriend (the Court is asking for three years and nine months) and the ongoing inquiry into Carlos Mazón in Valencia regarding his inactivity during the flood last autumn.

With the perhaps unfortunate timing of the release of the Montoro scandal, the recent aggression from Alberto Núñez Feijóo has been abruptly toned down: ‘Whatever needs to be investigated, let it be investigated’, he tweets.

And lastly, another headache for Feijóo – with a fact-checker reporting ‘Several senior officials from the Feijóo era in Galicia have been charged with corruption despite what the Popular Party leader claims’.

Which brings us to Vox. See, neither the PSOE nor the PP can claim that – unlike Vox – they’ve never had a crooked minister mortally embarrassed by the media filming him (or her) as he is admitted into the Soto de Real prison. So far, they’ve never had a minister. Vox is the party that can claim this laurel (apart from the small issues of race, foreigners and so on, plus the current fraud-case against their erstwhile leader in Andalucía Francisco Serrano. The court is asking for eight years).

So, does the fall of Montoro trump the Cerdán scandal?

Better still, should we all be taking an enjoyable summer’s reprieve from politics?

If Pedro Sánchez can hold his government together: that’s the question, and will someone else, one of ours or one of theirs – be abruptly found to have been on the take?

It’s a dirty business, politics, but someone has to do it.

…...

Housing:

From La Jornada here: ‘According to calculations by the Banco de España, the country has a housing shortage estimated at between 400,000 and 450,000 units, despite the paradox that there are around 4 million vacant homes, most of them located in low-demand areas’. … ‘There is a structural problem that has been dragging on for more than a decade, without an effective solution having been found, added to the fact that Spain is the country in the European Union with the least amount of social housing and that currently does not even represent 2.5 percent of the total housing stock in the country, while in countries such as Austria and Sweden this percentage exceeds 30 and 25 percent, respectively’.

‘Spanish house prices soar at twice the EU average as pressure mounts to control rents and tourist lets’ says Spanish Property Insight here.

elDiario.es says: ‘Booming home sales, more mortgages, and prices that remain uncapped: Are we heading for the next bubble? The Banco de España points to "moderate" imbalances in home prices, while the number of sales reaches 2007 levels; on the other hand, a more restrained credit to builders and households marks the difference compared to the 2008 crisis…’

‘The boom in commercial premises converted into homes is spreading significantly to office buildings’ says El Economista here. ‘It's clear that the recent health crisis of 2020 marked a turning point in the urban landscape, with a consolidation of remote working leaving the demand for office space at a low point. One of the latest reports from the consulting firm JLL confirms that, during 2024, 47% of property conversions of one sort or another were conversions precisely to residential use, with commercial office-space rising to 67%’ … ‘Data from the real estate consultancy CBRE shows that last year, 70 large commercial-to-residential conversion projects (390,000 m2) were carried out in Spain, 65 of which were office buildings. Of these, eight out of ten were registered in Madrid, where the housing shortage is most acute. However, the problem is also notable in Barcelona and Valencia, among other cities under pressure, where demand far exceeds real estate supply…’ Reader Jake from Madrid writes – ‘They're all over the place here. Unlike the big blocks they don't have anywhere to put their rubbish, so it's just dumped on the street’.

‘Debunking the myth of the small landlord: in reality, they enjoy higher incomes and the top 3% accumulate 60% of the rents. A study indicates that the myth of the "small landlord" and the "vulnerable landlord" are strategies used by lobbyists and real estate companies to perpetuate the status quo, despite the evidence to the contrary from the data’. elDiario.es has the story here.

Problems in Ciudalcampo, the VIP development north of Madrid, in the municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes, where villas are worth more than two million euros. We read at Infobae that ‘This residential area, home to Aitana, Bisbal, Baltasar Garzón, and Susanna Griso, among other celebrities, not only has an open investigation for dumping sewage into Río Jarama, but also for taking water from five wells without permission. Four people are under investigation. And the Tajo River Basin Authority has fined them €4.1 million…’

Spanish Property Insight says that ‘67% of Spanish municipalities offer IBI tax breaks for rooftop solar panels’. It’s worth a look but check your town hall’s small print says the article.

From Sur in English. ‘Average mortgage in Málaga is close to 210,000 euros and it's the third largest in Spain, only behind Balearic Islands and Madrid. Nearly half of all residential property deals in the Costa del Sol province are closed in cash, not via home loans’.

From Eye on Spain here: ‘What the Law Can’t Forbid: Your Rental Rights Under Spain’s New 2025 Rules’.

…...

Tourism:

The EES is now set to begin on 12 October 2025 with completion by 9 April, and the Etias fee has risen from €7 to €20. The Independent has: ‘Europe’s much-delayed entry-exit system (EES) will begin to apply to some travellers from the UK to the EU on 12 October this year. The scheme will connect all Schengen area frontiers to a central database. The aim is to digitise border crossings so that the comings and goings of non-EU citizens can be more closely monitored. It will help to identify suspected criminals, and to police the limit on stays of 90 days in any 180 days, which applies to UK citizens and travellers of other nationalities. The newly declared date means that some British passport holders heading away for October half-term holidays will need to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics…’.

Tourists go Home. The Guardian has a video. 

One of those articles that recommend places off the beaten track: ‘Sultry cities, empty beaches, captivating villages where only locals go — there’s no need to dodge the water pistols in these eight sleepy destinations, says our expert…’

‘A paradise made with AI: How content about tourist sites created with generative artificial intelligence can misinform and distort reality’. An article from Maldita here.

20Minutos asks, why call it a chiringuito when you can call it a beach club? Certainly our spit and sand beach bars of yore have turned into sophisticated venues guarded by bouncers and a hostess. Well, for one thing, they are a little bit more expensive than in the old days.

The Olive Press laments that ‘Over one-in-three Spaniards admit they cannot afford to go on holiday. According to data published by the National Statistics Institute, 33.4% of Spaniards say they do not make enough to go on a week-long sojourn once a year. The INE classifies a break every year as one of the required elements for an adequate standard of living, but many workers – including those on or above minimum wage – have been forced to shelve holiday plans and instead spend money elsewhere…’

…...

Finance:

‘The IMF urges Spain to diversify its exports in the face of the Trump tariff crisis, currently at 30% and pencilled in for August 1st. The International Monetary Fund also warns, in the latest edition of its "Foreign Sector Report," that fiscal support for the most affected companies and sectors should be "temporary and targeted"’. 20Minutos has the story here.

…...

Politics:

Evidently, the squabble remains: You’ve got Cerdán and Ábalos… ah, but you have Montoro… The unfortunate thing is that some of the more honest voters may decide that they will be staying home on election day. Surprisingly, La Caixa Foundation (August 2021) reckons the opposite. They ask – ‘Why isn't corruption punished at the polls?’

From InSpain News here: ‘Cultural icons and ex-ministers rally to defend Sánchez against ‘democratic threat’. ‘More than a hundred prominent Spaniards have signed a powerful manifesto warning of what they describe as an orchestrated attempt to delegitimise the current government. They all raise the alarm over rising political hostility and the manipulation of public discourse by conservative power structures…’ The story also appears at elDiario.es here.

El Independiente brings us ‘The PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has instructed his core group to begin working on the "abolition" of what they call "Sanchista laws" if the party makes it to the Moncloa Palace. These include the Democratic Memory Law, the Housing Law, the Trans Law, the Amnesty Law, and the reform of the Citizen Security Law, known as the "Ley Mordaza"’. Feijóo’s choice to lead this initiative is Cuca Gamarra.

The new PP party spokesperson Noelia Núñez now admits that she lacks a university degree. An oversight no doubt. The party's bylaws require a declaration of integrity to hold public office says El País here. El Plural is not so kind: ‘Noelia Núñez, the 'Ayuso of Fuenlabrada' with 14 tattoos and three different versions of a fake resume’.

As anyone can tell you, divided you fall… From Europa Press here. ‘ERC spokesman Gabriel Rufián advocates for a "plurinational" left-wing candidacy for the general election: "If not, they'll kill us separately"’.

‘The decree to prevent another blackout in Spain founders in Congress. The dissenting votes of the PP, Vox, Junts, Podemos, BNG, and CHA overturn the law with which the government sought to strengthen the electricity system after its collapse last April’. ‘Al gobierno, ni agua’ says the PP, more concerned with its feud than with supporting a very useful and important plan to prevent another blackout. El HuffPost has the story here.

The Government is moving forward to declassify Franco-era secrets and replace the (out of date) dictatorship law. The Council of Ministers has approved the new draft law on official secrets. Anything over 45 years old will soon be ‘automatically’ declassified.

…...

Catalonia:

The mayoress of Ripoll (Gerona), Sílvia Orriols, has announced on Twitter that she has signed a decree to prohibit the use of the burkini in the municipal swimming pool, citing security reasons. Under the Catalonian law of equality you can wear what you want, even go topless, but Silvia Orriols (Wiki) is not only the mayoress of the town, she’s also the president of the independence and far-right group Aliança Catalana.

…...

Health:

From El Plural here, ‘The president of the Junta de Andalucía openly speaks about abolishing public health care. His remarks come after a request was submitted to the chief prosecutor for alleged embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds’. ‘The quality of healthcare in Andalucía’, says the article, ‘has been one of the harshest criticisms of Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla's administration since he took office, and continues to be so today. The Andalusian Health Service (SAS) contracts and the misappropriation of funds, alleged embezzlement, and poor hospital management have been the burden that Andalusians have been stuck with since 2019.’. In an interview Moreno says - "Public healthcare for everyone and everything, with an increasingly aging population, may eventually become unviable", further demonstrating his reluctance to address the public healthcare system. A comment that has not gone unnoticed on social media, where one user warned that "they are already openly talking about abolishing public healthcare".

What are the best 0.0 beers? 14% of beer drunk in Spain is non-alcoholic says El País. In a blind test, the top beers for taste were Althaia Mediterránea, Superbock and Cruzcampo.

…...

Corruption:

‘The judge has ordered an investigation into 321 accounts of those accused in the Montoro scheme. The judge wants to determine where the large sums of money that Equipo Económico (Montoro’s consultancy) received from companies went to gain access to the Ministry of Finance and participate in drafting current laws’.  A number of participating companies will no doubt be mentioned by name in future news-items. Right now, here’s ‘Ferrovial paid almost 600,000 euros to Montoro's consultancy to accelerate payments to suppliers’. Who is who in the Montoro investigation, from RTVE here.

From Público here: ‘An interview with Carlos Cruzado, president of Gestha (Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance). "Montoro implemented one of the largest tax increases while granting tax breaks to large companies"’.

The Montoro scandal is examined at The Local here. They cover and extend an earlier article found at The Guardian here. Montoro is also remembered as the minister who raised IVA to 21%.

Codere (the gambling salons one finds in the poorer areas -wiki) paid Montoro's consulting firm €679,000 to benefit from the Gambling Law as key regulations for the online gaming sector were being processed and applied, favouring Codere says El Economista here. ‘All this while Rafael Catalá, the Minister of Justice under Mariano Rajoy between 2014 and 2018, was a director of the gambling company’, says elDiario.es here. El Plural says that the PP is worried about the past activities of Catalá reaching wider attention.

Opinion at elDiario.es here: ‘Judge Peinado helps us understand 'lawfare'. It's practically impossible to find a better example than his attempt to indict Félix Bolaños, the Minister of Justice, with "a complete lack of any minimally substantiated evidence."

(On Begoña Gómez here): ‘Deep down, they know the judge's profit after more than a year of investigation is quite meagre. It doesn’t matter. On the contrary, his capacity to generate headlines has been immense, which is what interests the PP. They just need the case to remain alive, even if it doesn't reach a conclusion. They assume this is what most destabilizes Sánchez personally’.

…...

Courts:

The Soto del Real prison, located in the province of Madrid, has had its share of interesting prisoners, including – says Wiki here – such folk as Rodrigo Rato,​ Jordi Pujol Ferrusola,​ Sandro Rosell,​ Luis Bárcenas,​ Miguel Blesa,​ Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, Ignacio González,​ Francisco Correa,​ Pablo Crespo,​ Lluís Prenafeta, Mario Conde,​ Macià Alavedra, Miguel Bernad,​ José María Ruiz Mateos, Ángel María Villar,​ Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Cuixart, Oriol Junqueras, Carme Forcadell, Dolors Bassa, Raül Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn​ and, since the 30th of June, Santos Cerdán from the PSOE.

…...

Media:

A reader just sent me this one from The Economist (December 2024): ‘The hard-right Vox party is winning over Spain’s youth. The kids like TikTok, Instagram and radical nationalism’.

TeleMadrid distorted the voice of Pedro Sánchez (speaking from Santiago de Chile) on their Wednesday news show – making him sound either drunk or drugged. The PSOE has called for an explanation.

…...

Ecology:

From The Conversation (en castellano) here: ‘In recent years, summers have become increasingly hotter. A couple of decades ago, a single heat wave in July or August was the norm. Today, they occur without respite from late spring onwards. However, it's not uncommon to hear phrases like "it's always been this hot in summer," conveying the idea that there's no difference from summers of the past…’

…...

Various:

From 20Minutos here: ‘The difficulties faced by second-generation North Africans in Spain: "If you give your last name, they automatically close the door". "Every child of a migrant has suffered discrimination, especially at school or at the doctor's", says young Kautar’. I wonder – is this true of all those people (usually bilingual) born to foreigners in Spain? My experience would be ‘maybe so’. 

On a similar topic: From elDiario.es here: ‘Immigrant workers earn 29% less than those born in Spain. A study highlights Spain as the one with the largest wage gap among nine migrant-receiving countries, primarily due to segregation into lower-paid jobs’.

Sur in English has: ‘Political turmoil in Serranía de Ronda town: the PP mayor is ousted and the PSOE's former-mayor to be reinstated. Benaoján's is the seventh motion of no confidence to be presented in Málaga province during the current municipal term, following some other high-profile cases’.

Europa Press tells of this idea to build a truly gigantic metal toro in some strategic location. ‘The Spanish Bullfighting Academy is seeking a municipality to erect a 300-metre bull as a major tourist icon’. I wonder if we will all be asked to chip in. ‘It’ll be like the Eiffel Tower of Spain’.

The new viral stupidity thanks to social media: defecating in pools. Deia says ‘The challenge has already forced the closure of several hundred pools in Spain and poses a serious public health problem’. 

…...

Letters:

Racism in Torre Pacheco. What I do not understand about Vox supporters is that they believe all the bull they are fed. Surely, Vox or not, when you hear those kind of rumours you know it is absolute bull and ignore it. What kind of person take to arms, travel distances and protest with violence based on hearsay, vastly embroidered? Vox and their supporters are a scourge, and I am deeply disappointed that so many people support them.

Salmon

The Thirst. Nothing beats tea! Warm drinks will hydrate better than cold. Close to body temp. Carbonated drinks dehydrate!

Jo

Thank you for an interesting and entertaining read. Personally, I'd rather one of Spain's beers, many with no artificial additives, than some of these so-called health drinks with half a page of chemical plant ingredients.

Michael

…...

Finally:

Café Quijano with Shinova – Sería mejor callarse – on YouTube here.