Power corrupts

Of the approximately 100 candidates in last month's regional and municipal elections facing corruption charges, a significant percentage have been elected or re-elected. The appeal of corrupt politicians to the electorate remains a mystery, and few pundits have been able to come up with a satisfactory explanation of the reasons for their enduring popularity. Voters for such politicians would seem to put support for their party above all other interests, or perhaps see some ethereal quality in them that places them above the evidence that suggests they are crooked.

Following last month's elections, Spain's electoral map is now dotted with towns and regions run by people accused by the courts of corruption. The party that has benefited most from the electorate's benevolence is the one that garnered the most votes and now controls much of the country: the Popular Party (PP). It will come as no surprise to learn that Valencia, where the PP has a strong power base, is where the largest number of allegedly corrupt politicians is to be found.

Ten PP officials facing corruption charges took office on Thursday in the new Valencian regional parliament amid protests by demonstrators outraged at their behavior. The inclusion of the re-elected regional premier, Francisco Camps, adds a special dimension to the issue. Not only because he holds such a high office, but also because he will soon face trial, and therefore faces the possibility, should he be found guilty, of having to resign. There can be no question, given the implications for the rule of law, of any eventual verdict by the courts being questioned or overruled because he has gained his re-election.

Candidates facing corruption charges have a political responsibility that should have been sufficiently weighty to have persuaded them not to run for office. The Camps case takes on particular relevance in the context of the Gürtel kickbacks-for-contracts network, which involves almost the entire PP leadership in Valencia.

Winning an election does not in any way reduce the political responsibility that comes from being accused of crimes. For politicians to avoid that responsibility by hiding behind the popular vote is an insult. A clear example of the scale of the problem is to be found in Telde, the second largest city on Gran Canaria, where a party called Citizens for Change have handed control to the PP's candidate, who faces serious corruption charges.

In such a panorama it comes as no surprise to learn that once again, the latest official CIS survey shows that Spaniards have a very low opinion of the country's politicians. For over a year now, Spaniards have told the pollsters that politicians are the country's third-biggest problem, after unemployment and the economy in general.