The inconsistencies between Ayuso and Feijóo regarding the purchase of the luxury penthouse that surround the Madrid government: "We have already said everything"

The controversy over the luxury penthouse acquired by the Community of Madrid through the public company Planifica Madrid adds a new chapter with the conflicting versions of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The regional president was asked this Monday about the operation and about the statements previously made by the leader of the PP, who has acknowledged that he knew since April that the regional Executive was looking for a place to temporarily move part of the Presidency. Ayuso, during her visit to San Martín de Valdeiglesias, chose to settle the questions with a blunt answer: “We have already said everything.”

The clash between both leaders occurs especially around Ayuso's knowledge of the acquisition. The regional president had denied knowing that the property was being bought, while Feijóo has assured that he had already been informed in April that the Community was looking for alternative spaces to temporarily move the Presidency team during the works of the Real Casa de Correos. In this way, the recognition of the PP leader introduces doubts about the version maintained until now by the regional Government about when and how the operation became known.

Ayuso defended this Monday that the property acquired by the Community should not be presented as a dwelling. “It is a property intended for offices that can also house offices,” she stated. The president thus rejected the criticisms that focus on the residential nature of the penthouse and accused the opposition of trying to build a controversy based on that consideration: “It has been intended to link it to a dwelling and there is no dwelling. Once again, the opposition crashes.”

The operation dates back to last April, when the Madrid Executive acquired a penthouse located in Chamberí for 6.3 million euros through Planifica Madrid. The intention communicated by the Community was to use it as a provisional space for the president and part of her team while the remodeling works of the Real Casa de Correos, in Puerta del Sol, were carried out. However, the General Urban Planning Plan of Madrid does not allow that property to be used as an office, an issue that has placed the focus on the legality and purpose of the purchase.

Feijóo admits he knew since April about the search for a space for the Presidency

In an interview with Europa Press, Feijóo explained that in April he participated in an "informal" meeting at the headquarters of the Madrid government where the need for "remodeling works" in the Real Casa de Correos was discussed due to problems related to "the pipes," "the air conditioning," and the conservation of the building.

According to the account of the president of the PP, during that meeting they were informed that they were "looking for places" to temporarily install "the president's office and the six, seven, or eight positions" of her "secretariat and Cabinet attention." Feijóo has therefore maintained that he knew since then about the search for an alternative location for the Presidency team, although he has differentiated that knowledge from the specific details of the purchase of the penthouse.

The popular leader also assured that he later spoke with the president's entourage and that the information received coincided with what had been initially explained to him: "We have spoken with the president's cabinet and the information given to us matches." At the same time, Feijóo acknowledged that the property finally acquired raised a question that should be clarified by the Community's Heritage area.

Specifically, the president of the PP admitted that a property had been purchased that "could not be used as an office" and demanded explanations as to why that decision was made if the objective was to install Presidency dependencies there. "The Community of Madrid has given all the explanations it deems appropriate to clarify what has happened," he stated, although he considered that Heritage would have to clarify the circumstances of the operation.

The succession of statements thus leaves two points of friction. On the one hand, Feijóo acknowledges that he already knew in April that the Community was looking for spaces for the temporary relocation of the Presidency, while Ayuso had denied knowing about the purchase of the penthouse. On the other hand, the president now defends that it is a property intended for offices, contrary to Feijóo's position that a space was acquired that "could not be used as an office." A divergence that keeps the controversy open about an operation that the Madrid government has ended up questioning by deciding to sell the property.