To do away with a problem, the first thing to do is identify it. The scandals that have erupted in Spain are related to how much and how transparently the nation's political parties are spending their euros.
The other focus of Spain's corruption scandals is mismanagement of public funding to create cushy jobs for friends and relatives instead of benefits and jobs for the people that need them. The national Tax Court regulates spending accountability of the parties, but its process goes so slowly that it is difficult to actually examine and enforce spending requirements. Also, the parties made use of various entities and bodies, such as foundations, that existed outside of federal tax oversight. Up until 2007, these bodies were not obligated to regulate their accounts. From that time on, controls were applied to just spending and donations from private sources. As a result the foundations only accounted for one out of every five euros that they received. This was 4.1 million out of 22.2 million euros under management.
To put a stop to corruption, it would be better to detect it from the start in order to prevent it. There have been over three hundred corruption cases in Spanish politics recently, which calls for increased controls and transparency not only in areas of public spending but also the spending of all bodies associated with the parties.
In addition to a Transparency Law passed recently and political party spending reforms, the country also needs an independent administration that acts as an internal control mechanism on politicians and a media system that can do its job. An overhaul of the political system is needed because continued examples of corruption will mire the nation in crisis and compromise the future of our country.
