Sometimes you feel that history is being made
around you. The Iranian Islamic revolution happened 5 years after I
left the country and its Indonesian equivalent happened 3 years after
I returned from there to the UK. Here in Spain, it may be third time lucky for me. I'm
encouraged in this belief by this article from a republican paper:-
In his appeal against the processing of the
case of Princess Cristina presided over by Judge Jose Castro, the
public prosecutor Pedro Horrach launched an infamous set of insults,
accusations and defamations against the judge in which he goes so
far as to say he is a deliberate perverter of justice, that he wants
to be famous and that he responds to media dictates. He has even
compared him to the Inquisition.
To justify putting himself on the side of the
presumed criminal, Princess Cristina - and this is the real
perversion of justice - Horrach - and we can suppose he is
following the orders of the Attorney General, Torres, and the Justice
Minister Gallardón (another prosecutor) - has appealed against the processing of the princess's case, but his manners betray him because, in his
anger, he has gone overboard in his assaults, insults and
defamations, instead of safeguarding the swindled public money and
the current legislation, as he is obliged to do.
The most serious thing about Horrach, and about those who are now cheering him on from the extreme
right, is that his attitude and manners will cause a lot more damage
to the monarchy than that already caused by the Noos case. For, while
the palace of King Philip VI has said that judicial independence is
respected throughout Spain, there is a growing suspicion that the
Zarzuela and Moncloa palaces are preparing, with the the diatribes of
Horrach, an environment in which the Provincial Court of Palma can take over the case against Cristina, in accordance with a
script written a while ago, in an obvious perversion of the course of
justice.
The cause of the Republic does not need much
political support in order to grow when the furious monarchists of
the extreme right, the long arm of the government and the Public
Prosecutor's office insist on saving Princess Cristina, above and
outside the law. If we add the rapid placing of the ex-king above
the law and remember the prohibition of republican flags at the
installation of Philip VI, we can see that the Republican factory
just installed in the royal palaces, in the political media and in the
communication networks connected to the PP party is working at full
speed.
No matter. Let them get on with it, because
when it rains it pours and the crisis of the monarchy's prestige
hasn't been ended by the abdication of Juan Carlos, however much many
think it has. Spain, for a while now, has been a tinder box which any
spark could ignite causing a large fire, however much they say at the
heights of power that 'nothing ever happens'. Doesn't it? Well, for
the moment the king has had to abdicate, and Rubalcaba has just
announced his departure from politics and we'll see if Ruz dares, at
the end of the instruction stage of the Barcenas and Gurtel cases, to
call Aznar, Cascos, Rajoy and Arenas to testify - those who were at
the very top of the PP during the years in which Lapuerta and
Barcenas managed the accounting
of the black money
transactions of the party.
As for Horrach, the first thing Torres should do, if he has a shred of dignity, is to publicly call attention to his bad manners and even suspend him. Because what this Attorney General can't do is denounce the vast sink of Spanish corruption and then side with the Infanta Cristina, while letting loose Horrach like a mad dog at the door of Judge Castro, who has left everything in evidence for everyone, including Rajoy. Though Horrach doesn't need help; he's just single-handedly disqualified himself.
As for Horrach, the first thing Torres should do, if he has a shred of dignity, is to publicly call attention to his bad manners and even suspend him. Because what this Attorney General can't do is denounce the vast sink of Spanish corruption and then side with the Infanta Cristina, while letting loose Horrach like a mad dog at the door of Judge Castro, who has left everything in evidence for everyone, including Rajoy. Though Horrach doesn't need help; he's just single-handedly disqualified himself.
And that's it for today.