Double trouble ahead for Rajoy

OF course Pablo Iglesias and Podemos want a vote of no confidence in Mariano Rajoy and his party.

Proving how reasonable he was, Iglesias emphasised that he would raise no problems regarding an alternative candidate put forward by either the PSOE socialists or the ‘C’s,’ the centrists. “The candidate isn’t important,” he said, which is why he was so magnanimous.

If the candidate were that important he would never have offered. For Iglesias, putting the PSOE on the spot with primaries coming up is as important as ousting Rajoy.

By shunning the motion, he can imply they are shoring up the PP as they did by abstaining to allow Rajoy to form a government.

That could goad enough of the membership into backing Pedro Sanchez as the next PSOE secretary general. Only the paidup members – all 187,949 of them – are enamoured of Sanchez.

Two general elections and two regional ballots demonstrated that Sanchez does not attract socialist voters.

That’s why Iglesias, who hopes to annihilate the PSOE, wants him as secretary general.

Power play

WITH the possible exception of the former Spanish vice-president and Hacienda minister Rodrigo Rato, all of the disgraced PP politicians enriched not only themselves but also the party.

The latest in this long line of shysters, the erstwhile president of the Madrid Community Ignacio Gonzalez, used the Canal de Isabel II water utility to raise money for electoral campaigns.

If all power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, wanting to gain or retain power obviously corrupts to the same extent.

In black and white

MARIANO RAJOY will always be haunted by the ‘Stay strong’ text message he sent to disgraced PP treasurer Luis Barcenas when the latter’s dodgy bookkeeping emerged.

Likewise, Justice minister Rafael Catala will be dogged forever by his message to Ignacio Gonzalez: “Let’s hope the mess gets sorted out.”

Catala did some fast-talking to explain that he didn’t mean Gonzalez’s mess or the PP’s mess or a mess of his own. He meant general mess.

What’s written can’t be unwritten and some text messages should never be sent in a country where “Think the worst and you’ll always be right” is a favourite proverb.

Not today, thank you

CATALUÑA’S pro-independence president Carles Puigdemont cancelled this month’s visit to Morocco.

No politician “at any level” would be available to receive him and his party, Puigdemont was told.

Catalan insiders say Morocco was responding to pressure from Spain and the US but it would be truer to say that no one outside Cataluña is that interested in Puigdemont. Or quite a few inside.