Spain's corruption eruption
In austerity-struck Spain, street protesters are screaming for the government to resign over the latest corruption scandal. At the head of the conservative People's Party (PP), Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said he will speak publicly on the matter on Saturday. It concerns allegations that members benefited from a slush fund fed by private companies for years. Spain's main rival newspapers, the liberal El Pais and conservative El Mundo flushed the story into the open two weeks ago, revealing excerpts of almost two decades of handwritten accounts that it said were maintained by People's Party treasurers. The papers said the accounts showed more than a decade of payments to Rajoy of more than 25,000 euros per year. This has undermined his reputation for honesty. Former PP treasurer Luis Barcenas stepped down in 2009 when judges began to investigate his possible involvement in alleged illegal payments from builders and other businesses which won governme...