Ayuso disclaims responsibility for the penthouse she visited and blames a "state mafia": "What do I care, that's not my management"

Isabel Díaz Ayuso responded this Friday to the unknowns about the Chamberí penthouse with a long intervention full of reproaches, attacks, and personal grievances. The president of the Community of Madrid denounced the existence of a "state mafia" against her, called the case a "nonsense," and disassociated herself from an operation carried out by a public company of her Government. "What do I care, that's not my management," she snapped.

Among the accusations against the press and the Government, Ayuso made a relevant admission. She personally visited the 485-square-meter penthouse after Planifica Madrid bought it for 6.3 million euros. Until now, the president had denied that the property had any relation to her personal life, and her Executive had focused explanations on the need to find alternative offices during the works of the Real Casa de Correos.

Ayuso explained that she went "to see it" given the possibility of moving her office there. "If they buy it and I'm looking for a place to move my offices, my office, well, to see it," she stated. She also acknowledged that its future location remained open. "It could be for me or a counselor could go there," she added, a possibility that again places her among the potential users of the property.

The president accompanied this admission with a categorical denial about residential use. "Never in my life have I thought of living in that property. I have not the slightest interest in living in it," she assured. The argument shifts the debate towards her personal will, although the pending doubts affect a decision adopted with public resources. It is still unknown who gave the order to search for the penthouse, who chose that specific home, and which body validated the price.

Ayuso also resorted to victimhood to discredit the questions. "Since there's no boyfriend anymore, now there's a penthouse," she protested, linking the investigation into the purchase with the information about her partner, Alberto González Amador. She then demanded that journalists "try to believe her" and maintained that no politician receives her same level of scrutiny.

During that intervention, a striking expression also slipped out. In defending that she has always paid her own expenses, she spoke of "my public money," a slip that has begun to circulate on social media as questions grow about the origin of the funds used in the operation.

The version changes again after the file is known

The president has proclaimed that she "has never lied," but the explanations offered by her Government have changed since the purchase became known. The first version presented the penthouse as a temporary office linked to future works at the Presidency headquarters in Puerta del Sol. Later, the regional Executive denied that it could function as an official residence. This week she has admitted that it was planned to use it as a place of work, rest, and occasional accommodation for visiting authorities or those from the Community of Madrid itself.

The documents released by the regional Government also do not clear up the main unknowns. The report used to justify the rental of the property expressly speaks of a residential space and mentions the possibility of accommodating regional authorities. However, that report was signed when Planifica Madrid had already acquired the penthouse and does not identify who initially promoted the purchase.

The Delegated Intervention of Economy and Finance stated in writing that the need and suitability of the operation were not sufficiently developed. It also warned of the absence of a comparison with similar buildings, of complete economic explanations about the rent and expenses, and of the report on the compatibility of the intended use with urban planning regulations. The observations allowed the file to proceed, but they highlighted the weakness of its justification.

The Community intended to rent the penthouse to Planifica Madrid for 3,000 euros per month to make it available to the Ministry of the Presidency. The contract was close to being formalized when the operation came to light. Just a few hours later, the Executive announced that it would sell the property to dedicate the funds to the reconstruction of the Sierra Oeste affected by the fires.

Ayuso has maintained this Friday that those decisions belonged to the realm of civil servants. "My responsibility is not to manage real estate," she has alleged before claiming that her job consists of administering 30,000 million euros, attracting Formula 1, promoting data centers, and ensuring that an eventual visit from the Pope functions correctly.

The president has even suggested that the file lacks importance compared to these competencies. "It makes no sense for seven years of daily efforts to end if the tender goes through channel B or channel Z. What do I care?" she has stated. The tender and the file are precisely the instruments that must certify why an administration dedicates millions of euros to a purchase and what public need it intends to cover.

The intervention then shifted towards her daily life. Ayuso has assured that she likes "to have neighbors and live in a community," converse with people who have dogs or children, and even exchange fruit. She has also lamented the "very harsh" conditions she faces due to lacking anonymity and has claimed that she pays for her house, her trips, and her vacations.

The president has reserved her harshest attacks for Pedro Sánchez. She has called the Prime Minister "unpresentable" and "jeta de La Mareta," in reference to the official residence located in Lanzarote, and has reproached him for talking about a "huge penthouse." Ayuso has also tried to shift the focus to Ceuta, European funds, and the activity of the ministers.

The penthouse remains without a buyer and the case reaches the Prosecutor's Office

Ayuso's reaction has coincided with two new developments regarding the future of the property. The board of directors of Planifica Madrid has agreed to keep it for sale until an offer that meets the tender conditions is found. The first tender was deserted and the starting price had been set at 6,694,201 euros, above the 6.3 million paid by the public company.

Regional sources attribute the lack of buyers to the "bad publicity" generated by the case. Ayuso has directly blamed the media attention. "Who is brave enough to buy anything with the press chasing them?" she asked, after assuring that the property has "a drone above it."

The president has also not shown concern about the immobilized money. "It is not lost money because it is heritage and will revalue over time," she defended. Planifica Madrid will keep the procedure open until an offer is received, after the institutional need that justified the acquisition disappeared when the purchase became public.

The operation has also taken a new step in the courts. Instruction Section number 8 of the Madrid Court of Instance has opened a separate proceeding with the documentation presented by Más Madrid, the PSOE, and Iustitia Europa. The case stems from the complaints filed for the possible commission of a crime of administrative prevarication.

The magistrate has sent the proceedings to the Madrid Prosecutor's Office to report on the court's jurisdiction and to rule on the received writings. The order does not yet imply an indictment or anticipate the formal opening of an investigation against a specific person. When she receives the opinion of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the judge will decide what steps to take regarding the purchase of the penthouse.