Montilla, Mas, Carod and Saura negotiate loans and debt remissions with saving banks such as “La Caixa”

Agnès Tortosa

Catalan parties accumulate more debt than 30 millions of euros to bank entities, according to the conclusion of the last report published by the Court of Auditors about the financing corresponding to 2005. CiU (Convergència i Unió) is the most indebted political force, 14,72 millions of euros, followed by PSC (Partit Socialista de Catalunya), whose debt is superior than 10,74 millions. The next in the list are ICV (Iniciativa per Catalunya els Verds), which has a debt of 4,8 millions of euros, and ERC (Esquerra Republicana), with an accumulated debt of 1,57 millions.

The supervisory report details the scant importance of the membership fees of political affiliation in the finance of the political parties of Catalonia, since the biggest part of the incomes come from government subventions, local entities and different parliamentary houses, proportionally to its representation in these institutions.

The major part of the debt is owned by the biggest Catalan financial corporation, La Caixa, and the written-off-money of the last years is not included. José Montilla and José Zaragoza arranged in 2003 with the bank presided by Ricard Fornesa the cancellation of 6,75 millions of euros and an extension of the payment system of the rest in convenient periods for the following fifteen years. Josep Lluis Carod Rovira also reached an agreement in order not to pay the 2,4 millions of euros debt that ERC had accrued since the 90s. The cost of these cancellations hasn’t been valued. Why should the finances entities write off these payments? Do they do the same with the citizen who doesn’t have enough money to pay the mortgage of her/his property? Manolo Tomàs, spokesperson of the Platform to the Defence of Ebre River (Plataforma en Defensa de l’Ebre), pointed out last April 2008 some of the reasons which would justify this favourable behaviour with the interests of the parties: “The kindest bank corporations to the political power afterward normally receive the favours of the concession of the majority of the public works, translated into infrastructures, roads, etc. Banks and saving banks have affiliate companies which invest in construction and work on carrying on dual carriageways, diversions, tunnels, buries, electrical lines and plans for high-speed train.” AGBAR company had to build the frustrated water main of the Ebre diversion, behind this water multinational corporation is hidden an important part of stocks owned by La Caixa. Here we close the cycle.

Salaries, renting and extra expenses

The complex administrative structures of the parties, such as Partido Popular (PP) or Partido Social Obrero Español (PSOE) keep themselves thanks to the huge economic fluxes, which come partly from anonymous donations and bank loans, which in the medium term and depending on the interests of the financial corporations implied, in the end are written off. In the central office of Zapatero’s party in Ferraz Street, in Madrid, every morning around 200 people go to work; it is the key centre of PSOE organizational structure, but the net is much bigger. They add a total of 3000 premises and offices in Spain, both properties and renting, including its expenses and its paid workers. In Catalonia, PSC has 277 head offices all around and that have to be maintained everyday. A percentage of these premises is owned by the party, accumulating a registered value of more than 70 millions of euros. The rest are rented premises.

The social mechanism —without including PSC, because it has its own accounts—, according to the Court of Auditors, had amassed a bank debt of 56,45 millions of euros in the 90s. The credit entities decided to write 15,6 millions of euros off in 2001.

PP doesn’t lose its opportunity. In their head building in Génova Street in Madrid work around 230 people and the building is rented. Every year they pay around a million of euros, approximately 90.000 euros per month to the assurance company Mapfre —the present owner—. There are around fifty offices distributed in seven floors plenty of consultants, secretaries, computer engineers and security staff. They also invest 3,7 millions of euros per year in rented offices and premises in the rest of Spain. In 1996, PP had a bank debt of 100 millions of pesetas, but year after year it has become worse. In 2001 had risen by 37 millions of euros. The same year they receive 3,2 millions of euros in anonymous donations. In terms of cancellations of debts, Caixa Galicia wrote off 1,7 millions of euros of Partido Popular Gallego.

Izquierda Unida cannot also present a better account result. Nowadays it still owes the bank more than 12 millions of euros. Iniciativa per Catalunya amasses now non-payments of 4,8 millions of euros, although since they are in the Government, it look likes their financial situation has improved.

( DESPIECE )

The Foundations “linked” to the parties also receive finance from the Government

In 2007, the Generalitat budgeted 660.000 euros for private foundations of Catalan political parties. The quantity is the same as the notified a year before, even though the distribution has been different, due to the incorporation of a foundation related to Ciutadans, a party that has entered the Parliament after the elections of 2006.

Fundació Rafael Campalans, related to PSC, was the most benefited of the last two notifications of public subventions (386.232 euros), nevertheless this year its help has been reduced by 12%. But the subvention to Fundació Ramon Trias Fargas (Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya) has increased, the second most benefited by Generalitat, that in 2006 received 161.333 euros and in 2007 166,222 euros. If we add to this subvention the approximate quantity of 70.000 euros that every year receives the Fundació d’Unió —Institut d’Estudis Humanístics Miquel Coll i Alentorn—, we could state that CiU is the one which receives more subventions from the Government.

The third best benefited organization in terms of subventions is Fundació Josep Irla, linked to Esquerra Republicana. In 2007 the foundation received 68.444 euros, a quantity slightly inferior than 73.333 euros in 2006.

The subventions for Fundación para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales —FAES, presided by J. Mª Aznar—, Nous Horitzaons (ICV), Egara-Civitas (Ciutadans-Partit per la Ciutadania), or Alternativa (EUiA) have been less “generous”.