Más Madrid and PSOE corner Ayuso after putting the luxury penthouse up for sale: "She does it because we caught her"

Isabel Díaz Ayuso defended on Wednesday the purchase of the luxury penthouse in Chamberí and accused the press of promoting a "smear campaign" against her. Barely 24 hours later, her Government has initiated the process to sell the property and allocate the proceeds to the reconstruction of the municipalities affected by the Sierra Oeste fire.

The turnaround has further increased pressure from the opposition. Más Madrid and the PSOE believe that the sale confirms that the regional Executive lacked a solid explanation for the acquisition and maintain their demand to know the complete file, the price paid, and the planned actions in a residential property that was going to serve as the president's temporary office.

The property, about 480 square meters and located in the Chamberí district, was acquired on April 14 by the public company Planifica Madrid, several months before the fires. The Community plans to sell it along with three other properties and estimates that the operation could contribute up to 20 million euros to the recovery efforts in the Sierra Oeste.

Más Madrid accuses Ayuso of taking advantage of the pain of the fires

Más Madrid, the main opposition force in the Assembly, has interpreted the announcement as a forced rectification due to the publication of the case. Its parliamentary spokesperson, Manuela Bergerot, has directly accused Ayuso of "using the pain of the Madrid fires" to try to leave the scandal behind.

"The only reason why Ayuso's penthouse, bought with public money, is being sold is that we caught her," Bergerot stated. The leader added that "the shame is so great" that the president now needs to resort to the fires to "cover up her defeat."

Deputy Marta Carmona learned of the sale during an interview on 'Al Rojo Vivo' and recalled that the purchase was made on April 14, when the fires had not yet occurred. "Since we caught her and saw what she was going to do, she tries to get rid of it and disguise it," she denounced.

Carmona believes that the change of plans exposes the contradictions of the Madrid Executive. The Community initially presented the penthouse as a necessity to maintain the activity of the Presidency during the works of the Real Casa de Correos. Once the operation became publicly known, that necessity disappeared, and the property became part of a package of properties destined for sale.

The parliamentarian has announced that Más Madrid will scrutinize how the penthouse was bought, how much Planifica Madrid paid, and what use it was really intended for. She has also accused Ayuso of using the money of Madrid residents to maintain "a lifestyle far superior to what she can afford" and trying to integrate into the "Madrid jet set."

Rita Maestre has summarized the case in three moments. First, the Community bought the property. Then, Ayuso assured that it would be used for offices despite its residential use. The day after the operation became public, the regional government announced its sale.

Mónica García has also linked the controversy to the complaints of forest firefighters about the lack of resources. The Minister of Health has contrasted these claims with the purchase of the penthouse and has recalled the public money allocated by the Community of Madrid to private healthcare.

"Now that we have found out, she says she is selling it for the reconstruction of the fires. Just to recover what was allocated to Quirón, she would need 1,000 penthouses," wrote the former leader of the Madrid opposition.

The PSOE registers more than 30 initiatives and demands the file

Óscar López has focused the PSOE-M's reaction on the doubts that remain open about the purchase. "She was getting a free apartment without telling anyone. And they caught her. Another lie," said the general secretary of the Madrid socialists.

The leader insisted that the sale announcement does not replace the pending explanations. The PSOE wants to know the complete file and how much it would have cost the public coffers to adapt the property for the activity of the president and her team.

"Let them show the file and clarify how much the new luxury penthouse was going to cost us Madrilenians," demanded López, who had already asked Ayuso in the morning to clarify whether she intended to have an official residence in Chamberí.

Socialist deputy Daniel Rubio reported that his group has registered more than 30 parliamentary initiatives between this Wednesday and this Thursday. One of them requests the file of the works linked to the penthouse, documentation that, he denounced, does not appear in the corresponding place on the regional transparency portal.

Más Madrid and the PSOE will keep their requests for information active to find out who authorized the purchase, what report justified the operation, and how much public money had been reserved to condition the property. Ayuso's Government has already put the penthouse up for sale, but the file that originated the scandal remains unpublished.