J. L. R. Zapatero, the former Prime Minister, found himself in a difficult position yesterday after being pointed out by his frontman, Julio Martínez, and by the owner of the airline Plus Ultra, for receiving more than half a million euros for facilitating the government rescue in the spring of 2021 – through the SEPI – of the company... And for informing him before it had been approved by the Council of Ministers.
In letters sent to the judge, both Julio Martínez Sola, president of Plus Ultra, and the frontman employed in his businesses by Zapatero to collect the commissions, the aforementioned Julio Martínez, point to former President Zapatero as the man who directed the operation for the Spanish Government to grant a loan of 53 million to an airline with two planes that the Council of Ministers labelled as “strategic”. Zapatero was the one who “set the steps to follow”
The airline did not meet the standards set by the SEPI to be rescued: it was not profitable before the pandemic, but had been in losses since its creation. It was not up to date with its relations with the Spanish public administration – it had debts with Social Security, which were postponed – and it could hardly be considered strategic when it only accounted for 0.03% of the flights controlled by AENA.
The collection of the commission agreed by Zapatero for that rescue, of 1%, had already been conveniently credited, even though it was done through his frontman. So the problem resurfaces now but focusing not on Zapatero, but directly on the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
Because for there to be a rescue, there must be a rescuer. And the one who was the responsible minister, the now imprisoned José Luis Ábalos, has been very clear about this. He found out about the rescue in the same Council of Ministers, on 9 March. Moreover, following instructions from his deputy, Pedro Saura, he had opposed it. According to Saura “you should tell the president that he needs to suspend and reverse the Plus Ultra agreement, and that the SEPI is out of control”.
Ábalos himself has acknowledged that “Zapatero pressured me to facilitate the rescue of Plus Ultra”, and that when he failed to do so – because “it was not a consolidated airline” – “Zapatero bypassed me”... Who could be called upon if the responsible minister and number 2 of the PSOE refused the rescue? So you know, from now on Zapatero will become – another one – “That person you speak of.”
