I'd have Jose back at Madrid in a heartbeat

It's been ongoing for years, but it hasn't just been them. The socialists are equally culpable in their regional domains. The courts are now also in the process of proving what had been one of the country's worst kept secrets for years if not decades - that the leaders of the Catalan nationalists (always on hand to help form coalition govt's either with the 'left' or right) had been taking a 3% cut on all public contracts in Catalonia, funnelling funds out to every tax haven on earth, to the tune of hundreds if not billions of Euros.

European funds have been used to build multi-million-Euro airports that don't host a single commercial airline flight.

Friends and families of politicians have been added onto layoff payouts for companies they'd never worked for - on a grand scale.

Funds for occupational training schemes for the unemployed have been awarded to companies who have invoiced millions for courses that have never been held.

The list is absolutely endless, but the lowest of the low imo is held by a former councillor for development aid of of the regional gov't of Valencia, who's recently been put away for diverting into his own accounts (fack knows how) at least 90 million Euros that were originally intended to be curing diseases and feeding starving children in Africa.

Ba$trds is about the nicest compliment you can pay them.

As for it being a film or mini-series, there's enough material for it to run longer than Coronation Street.

Oh, and I forgot to mention there are even members of the royal family indicted on corruption charges.

Corruption that would put a 3rd world country to shame!! That is incredible.

It is, Wump. One of the big issues is that apart from the two-chamber parliament, we have a further 4 levels of government (if you include the European parliament).

That's a lot of layers of waste, and a whole load of dark alleyways down which public funds can lose their way.

You have to pass specific exams to become or promote as a civil servant, but politicians have found a way of getting nice cushy salaries for their friends and relatives by creating advisory roles and inventing other unregulated positions.

An example. Provincial governors are elected by political delegates representing all of the towns and villages in the province (i.e., the party with most municipal support gets to choose the governor). Provincial councils are relatively small and hold little power.

However, there was this governor in the right-wing bastion province of Ourense who'd basically been governor for ever. When he finally made up his mind to call it a day, he decided that his own son would be the ideal candidate to fit the position. So he got to work. In his final year as governor, he created no fewer than 107 new positions for "persons of confidence" (i.e. not requiring any official examination), and handed them all to members of the PP and their relatives.

Sometimes you just have to laugh though.

During a TV interview with a socialist candidate in Castilla La Mancha who decried the fact that the regional president (conservative) had put around 90 advisors on her government's payroll.

The interviewer then replied something along the lines of "I agree, it's disgraceful. But I've done a bit of research and it turns out that when your lot were in office you had over 120!"

As for it being a film or mini-series, there's enough material for it to run longer than Coronation Street.
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Thanks for sharing ioag, keep going if there's more, fascinating stuff.

Maybe Tony the warmonger wasn't so bad after all

And how to forget the infamous Carlos Fabra, governor of Castellón -a position that's been held by no fewer than 4 generations of Fabras!-, who after about 15 years of trial is finally doing 4 years for tax fraud and is still on or awaiting trial on a wide range of corruption charges.

Amongst other questions posed during his trial, the judge asked Fabra to explain how any man could be lucky enough - as was Fabra's claim - to win the national lottery 7 times!

You are winding us up now!


So how do you normally vote?

Facking hell 7 times? Surely this is all documented, the lottery wins that is, if it were even true?!!!!