Former minister José Luis Ábalos has appeared in Congress to announce his decision to remain a deputy despite the ultimatum of the PSOE and to take advantage of the parliamentary public forum to defend himself against the information about the Koldo case. Ábalos said goodbye with a vehement intervention in which there was no shortage of reproaches against the socialist leadership. This is his intervention in ten sentences.
1. “I have heard all the voices around me, those of those who hate me for my ideology or political career, those who despise me because they despise my own humanity and those who, obviously, still love me, who I am lucky to have There are many and many.”
2. “I owe it to the people who really appreciate me, who are the ones who have conveyed to me with sincerity and generosity the request that I continue in the fight, that I not give up and that I defend my honorability.”
3. “I am not accused of anything, nor am I part of the ongoing investigation nor do I have any illicit enrichment. I have no need to invoke the principle of presumption of innocence.”
4. “If I resigned it would be interpreted as a sign of guilt that I do not assume and it would only cause my stigmatization, not only political but also personal, and I know what a political stinker is.”
5. And a strong message: “I will not end my career as corrupt when I am innocent.”
6. “Those who demand my expulsion from politics appeal to supposed ethics. But they don’t explain to me what the reparation for my civil cancellation would be or when, who would repair that?
7. “It is not a comfortable decision for me, it is a very hard decision, and very difficult personally.”
8. “In this very murky scenario that has been generated, it has not been possible to establish a reflection with my party, for the benefit of the acronym”
9. “And having helped the PSOE as organization secretary to unite militancy in complex times after the 2017 primaries. I would have liked to have the benefit of camaraderie. It has not been possible.”
10. “I face all the political power, from one side and the other, and I am alone. I am a mere pawn.”
