In a move that has shocked the legal world, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz Gallardón interfered yesterday in the ruling against Miguel Blesa, the former chairman of Caja Madrid. Gallardón opposed the Fiscalía court's decision and spoke in favor of having the higher Audiencia court rule on the case.
Gallardón ought to have held his tongue and not meddled. This is one more example of the executive branch putting pressures on a judge, raising suspicious about whose interests are trying to be protected in this instance. Besides a grave economic crisis, Spain is enduring serious political turmoil caused in part by the lack of respect that many of the nation's officials and politicians have for the institution of government.
Miguel Blesa financially backed many of the gargantuan projects that Justice Minister Gallardón developed when he was president of the Madrid regional government and also later when was Madrid's mayor. He and Ana Botella worked hard to keep Blesa at the helm at Caja Madrid while facing opposition from Esperanza Aguirre, who wanted her candidate Ignacio González to have the spot. González is the current president of the Madrid regional government.
Mario Rajoy had to get involved to settle the conflict. Gallardón's proximity to Blesa is a strong reason why the former should not get involved in this court case, which should only be handled by those who can under the framework of Spanish law.
There has been too much interference in this case already, especially from government officials, which arouses suspicions that justice will not be administered fairly and that some people have an interest in keeping others, like Blesa, from being accountable for their actions.
