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### Viewing cable 09MADRID97, SPAIN: ALLEGED SPYING SCANDAL HIGHLIGHTS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09MADRID97 | 2009-01-29 11:11 | 2010-12-03 12:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Madrid

`

    VZCZCXRO7877
    RR RUEHLA
    DE RUEHMD #0097/01 0291138
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 291138Z JAN 09
    FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0132
    INFO RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3774

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000097

    SIPDIS

    PASS TO ELAINE SAMSON AND STACIE ZERDECKI OF EUR/WE

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019
    TAGS: PGOV PREL SP
    SUBJECT: SPAIN: ALLEGED SPYING SCANDAL HIGHLIGHTS
    FRACTURES WITHIN MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY

    REF: A. 08 MADRID 785
    ¶B. 08 MADRID 691
    ¶C. 08 MADRID 537

    Classified By: ADCM William H. Duncan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Allegations and counter-allegations of a
    spying scandal within the center-right Popular Party (PP)
    highlight the party's rivalries. Reports surfaced on January
    19 that the PP-led Madrid regional government's (analogous to
    a U.S. state) minister of justice and internal affairs,
    Francisco Granados, created a spy ring - allegedly financed
    by public funds and managed from official offices - to keep
    tabs on rival politicians within the PP itself. Photographic
    evidence of the surveillance has been made public, so there
    is a growing acceptance that these individuals were indeed
    monitored, but it is unclear by whom and for what purpose.
    Granados denies all the charges. Madrid Regional President
    Esperanza Aguirre, who holds a post equivalent to a U.S.
    Governor and is a leading force at the national level in the
    conservative wing of the Popular Party, has not been
    implicated in the scandal. However, several targets of the
    alleged espionage, such as Madrid Deputy Mayor Manuel Cobo,
    are allied to City of Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon,
    who represents the PP,s moderate wing and is often
    identified as Aguirre's chief rival for eventual leadership
    of the party if current leader Mariano Rajoy steps down.
    Aguirre has counterattacked with allegations that it is the
    PP itself and Madrid,s City Hall that have been keeping
    secret files on PP officials. The allegations have surfaced
    as regional and European elections loom on the horizon and
    have damaged the PP's attempts to present a united front
    following a prolonged and divisive debate last year about
    Rajoy's leadership.

    //THE ALLEGATIONS//

    ¶2. (U) Leading news daily El Pais (left of center) broke the
    story on January 19. Marcos Pena, a former police inspector
    who had been hired by Granados as a security consultant, told
    the newspaper that he and a team of former Civil Guards ran
    investigations on individuals and that he prepared
    confidential reports for Granados alone. Among the growing
    list of alleged targets were Madrid Deputy Mayor Manuel Cobo,
    Madrid Regional Government Vice President Ignacio Gonzalez,
    and Alfredo Prada, former Madrid Regional Government Minister
    of Justice. Pena reportedly created detailed dossiers on
    each of these figures after having monitored their activities
    at work, outside the office, and even on trips abroad. Upon
    further investigation, El Pais says it encountered espionage
    data within Granados' office that pre-dates Pena's employment
    there, but also has reported that a civil servants, union is
    attacking Granados, claims that his office did not engage in
    espionage by publicly alleging that those among them who
    refused to cooperate in actions they perceived "verged on the
    illegal" and were "harassed and ridiculed" by outside
    "security consultants" that Granados hired. Photographic
    evidence of the surveillance has been made public, so there
    is a growing acceptance that these individuals were indeed
    monitored, but it is unclear by whom and for what purpose.
    According to the media, initial reports showed that the
    espionage was directed against key rivals of Aguirre who
    would have been likely to side with Rajoy. The spying
    appeared to be primarily aimed at determining who was
    conniving within the PP in the capital at a time of great
    upheaval in the party. Granados denies all the charges and
    says his office operates within the law.

    ¶3. (C) It is unclear what Aguirre knew or when she knew it;
    she at first disputed the veracity of the allegations,
    defended her subordinates, and called for anyone with
    knowledge of the facts to make it known to the proper
    authorities. In the second week of the scandal, however, she
    has come out fighting. She claims that she is a victim of a
    smear campaign by PP headquarters, which she says is after
    her politically. Spanish media reports suggest that PP
    headquarters has its own 69-page report - whose scanned index
    has been published - on the assets, friends, family and
    public decisions of her deputy, Gonzalez. Aguirre also has
    made counter-allegations, declaring that in 2006 Gonzalez
    discussed with Rajoy the existence of "secret" PP files on
    Gonzalez and Granados, which prompted Rajoy to phone Aguirre
    about the issue, which Aguirre admits later amounted to
    nothing compromising. The PP's former treasurer, Alvaro
    Lapuerta also has come forward, telling the press he informed
    Rajoy in March 2008 of his suspicions that he was being
    followed. However, some press reports suggest it was
    Lapuerta who assembled the 2006 files on Gonzalez and
    Granados. Finally, Aguirre has alleged that it is City Hall,
    led by Mayor Ruiz-Gallardon, rather than the regional office

    MADRID 00000097 002 OF 002

    which employs a parapolice espionage unit.

    //THE POLITICAL BACKDROP - JOCKEYING FOR POWER WITHIN THE PP//

    ¶4. (C) Before the March 2008 general election, Aguirre
    maneuvered successfully to keep her arch-rival, Madrid Mayor
    Ruiz-Gallardon, off the PP,s congressional lists, and
    following the defeat of PP leader Mariano Rajoy in the
    general election, she tried to unseat Rajoy. She abandoned
    that attempt when it became clear she did not have sufficient
    support within the party. Media reports suggest the
    espionage began in March 2008, shortly after the general
    election (i.e., when Aguirre was mounting her coup against
    Rajoy). Regarding the spy scandal, Ruiz-Gallardon has said
    it appears that the regional government is employing an
    illegal para-police organization with espionage powers and
    has called for an investigation to clear up the matter.

    ¶5. (C) Rajoy has promised an internal PP investigation of the
    spying incident and has asked two trusted PP deputies to lead
    the inquiry. Despite being a two-time loser in Presidential
    politics and unrest in his own party, Rajoy won re-election
    as party leader last year. He thereafter pushed aside a
    number of party figures associated with former President Jose
    Maria Aznar and moved new figures, several of them female,
    into prominent positions in the party. The next scheduled
    opportunity to challenge him for the leadership will be at
    the PP convention in 2011 (the next general election is
    expected in 2012). Despite his post-general election moves
    to solidify his leadership, grumbling within the party about
    Rajoy has not stopped. Many say he has failed to take
    sufficient advantage of Zapatero,s vulnerability on the weak
    economy. The Galician and Basque regional elections on March
    1 and the European parliamentary elections on June 7 could be
    key tests for Rajoy. In anticipation, Rajoy, has said
    publicly he will not interpret a PP loss in any of those
    elections as an indication of lack of public support him.

    //LOOKING AHEAD - INVESTIGATIONS LIKELY TO UNCOVER MORE
    DETAILS//

    ¶6. (U) A slew of investigations have begun to attempt to
    uncover what really has been going on. In addition to the
    internal PP investigation mentioned above, Madrid Deputy
    Mayor Cobo filed a lawsuit on January 21 to get to the bottom
    of the scandal; public prosecutors began their inquiry the
    next day. Their first witness was the El Pais journalist who
    broke the story; the newspaper already has provided the files
    it has on the subject. Meanwhile, Investigating Judge Jose
    Sierra opened a case on January 26 to investigate the alleged
    espionage against Gonzalez while overseas, which Sierra has
    stated could be a violation of article 197 of the Penal Code
    and could result in a prison sentence of one to four years
    for anyone convicted of having carried out the surveillance.
    Granados is scheduled to appear in the Madrid regional
    Assembly on January 30 to clarify the facts.

    ¶7. (C) COMMENT: This spy scandal has erupted into a near
    free-for-all of allegations and counter-allegations of
    espionage, at least some of which appears to have been
    actually carried out, although by whom, on whose orders and
    for what purposes all remain to be revealed. It also remains
    unknown who is behind the constant source of leaks to the
    press on the issue. This scandal, which will no doubt drag
    on for a long time, could become a serious liability for
    Esperanza Aguirre, a hyper-ambitious politician who sees
    herself as a future President of the Spanish Government. To
    the extent that Aguirre is damaged, Ruiz-Gallardon,s star
    may rise. Ruiz-Gallardon generally gets high marks as Mayor
    of Madrid. He is charming, sharp-witted, and has a
    reputation for honesty. An unknown is his vote-getting
    ability outside Madrid. During the Ambassador's farewell
    call with the Spanish President on January 16, Zapatero
    opined that Ruiz-Gallardon was the only member of the PP who
    could become President of Spain. As for Rajoy, while he may
    enjoy Aguirre,s discomfort, the scandal could add to the
    impression that the PP under his leadership is more concerned
    with its internal rivalries than with the problems of
    ordinary Spaniards. The only clear winner at the moment
    would seem to be Zapatero and the PSOE who not only benefit
    from the spectacle of PP fratricide but probably welcome the
    distraction from all the economic bad news on their watch.
    CHACON

`