Carlos Alsina ironizes about the “commendable exercise of transparency” by Ábalos and Koldo by leaving “so much trace” in the trial of the Mask case

During the second day of the trial for the Masks case, journalist Carlos Alsina dedicated his monologue on Más de Uno to analyzing the documentary trail left by the former Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos, and his former advisor Koldo García, calling the amount of evidence they have left about their alleged irregularities a “commendable exercise in transparency”.

Alsina did not miss the opportunity to comment sarcastically on some anecdotes that came to light in court. Among them, the testimony of Claudia Montes, former Miss Asturias, whom Ábalos provided with a job in a public company linked to the railway sector. According to Montes' testimony, during her workday she dedicated herself to “reading books about trains” in the Oviedo library, trying to “cultivate herself” to better perform a job whose real function was never clear. Alsina highlighted the irony of the situation: “The minister held the prosaic portfolio of Public Works, but in his heart there has always been an extreme sensitivity for culture and for women who wished to cultivate themselves”, he said.

The monologue also underscored that, as with Montes, Ábalos and Koldo left such an evident trail that the court can easily follow the thread of their placements in public companies. Alsina pointed out: “This thing about the ministry turned into a placement agency for friends and co-religionists, the abuse of power with public money, the disdain for state companies, which has made it easy for the Court to do justice, at least on this point (...) The two of them have displayed a commendable exercise in transparency”.

The trial continues with media and social attention, and these interventions have opened a debate about the management of public resources, jobs in state-owned companies, and the pressure of certain circles of power in Spanish politics.