A major trial in Spain beginning Monday will refocus on the illegal funding scandal that has plagued the People’s Party for years and has been the shadow of the country’s main conservative party, despite its promises to regenerate.
Legal proceedings before the National Court in Madrid will analyze whether the rebuilding of the party’s headquarters in the Spanish capital was paid for more than a decade ago with alleged illegal funds largely made up of bribes. The case is the latest in a lawsuit that began when allegations first surfaced in 2013 of inaccurate accounting records that the party kept for decades.
The PP, which was a dominant presence during the last four decades of Spanish democracy, has already paid a high political price for the corruption scandals involving its members or elected officials.
In mid-2018, former leader Mariano Rajoy was removed from office as prime minister after a court ruled that the party had benefited from a bribery conspiracy.