PP figures fall foul of online blunders

"@equipogallardon is not responsible for the personal opinions expressed by others via profiles outside of this account. This account only includes the opinions, statements and acts of [Madrid Mayor] Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. We do not endorse any tweet that we have not posted."

With this statement the Madrid mayor tried to distance himself from the growing controversy over tweets posted by one of his top members of staff. By Tuesday night, however, the extreme nature of the man in question's opinions had become clear, and the Popular Party (PP) mayor promptly fired him.

Fernando Autrán, the general traffic coordinator for the city and vice president of a range of public companies within the Madrid council, had posted a number of controversial statements on his Twitter account. On Monday, for example, he wrote: "Prisa [the parent company of EL PAÍS] is in a bad way, a really bad way. More EREs," an ERE being a labor force adjustment plan. Just hours later he apologized for the statement, saying: "I am deeply sorry for the unfortunate tweet about the EREs [which have not been announced]. And I publicly apologize."

But by that point his comments were spreading like wildfire through cyberspace, given previous tweets in which he had insulted a host of public figures: "Arturo Mas [Catalan regional premier], the judges can't lay a finger on you but you can mess with the rest of us?"

"[Justice Minister Francisco] Caamaño, 'democrats will be generous when ETA turns in its arms.' Of course: we'll shoot them twice instead of just once."

"[Defense Minister Carme Chacón:] Posh private school girl and she can barely string a sentence together. She's saved by the media control her partner has. What do you want for Spain? You're an embarrassment, and you're only there to make up a cuota."

"I know that the TV makes you look fatter, but what an ass Ms Trini [Cabinet Minister Trinidad Jiménez] has got!!!"

"[Catalan politician Joan] Tardà has called [politician and one of the so-called 'fathers' of the Spanish Constitution Gregorio] Peces Barba a 'giant son of a bitch.' Look who's talking."

Asked by EL PAÍS about his comments, Autrán apologized once more for his statements about Prisa, but when quizzed about the rest of his posts, he replied: "Tweets are what they are."

The Socialist spokesman for the Madrid council, Jaime Lissavetzky, called on Gallardón to publicly condemn the comments of his subordinate, or instead to fire him for his "crude and misogynist" comments. "Someone in a senior position, who has been handpicked, should express values compatible with democracy."

Facebook montage

Meanwhile, the Popular Party's candidate for Mallorca's Senate seat, Francisca Pol, has been forced to resign after publishing a photo-montage of Defense Minister Chacón on her profile on the social-networking site Facebook.

The picture, showing the minister studying a document along with a number of military leaders, but which had been altered to make it look as if the minister's shirt was open, revealing her breasts, was given a caption by Pol reading: "The things a Socialist minister has to do to win votes."

Socialists immediately came out to criticize her actions, calling Pol's behavior "humiliating, sexist, offensive and insulting."

Pol later posted an apology on her Facebook account, before caving into pressure and resigning all her public posts on Wednesday morning.