Editorial: When sorry is not enough

I am sorry, said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy about the cases of alleged political corruption involving his  party, the Partido Popular. Sorry, is a nice word but surely the Spanish Prime Minister could have offered tougher words like, “it is deeply regrettable,”or even “I promise a full investigation.” There are so many cases of alleged political corruption at the moment in Spain it is difficult to keep count. But we are talking scores of police investigations involving public officials and politicians up and down the country. In the Balearics the former leader of the Balearic government, Jaume Matas, is in jail on the mainland and the ex-President of the Council of Majorca is behind bars in Palma prison.  Spain needs to cleanup its act. Rather than being sorry I bet that Rajoy finds these alleged corruption cases deeply embarrassing. Not only for his party but for Spain as well. And Spain is not impressed either. The majority of Spaniards I talk to say that politicians found guilty of corruption should not go to jail, they believe that politicians should work to repay the amount they have stolen from public coffers. This is not a bad idea. I would like to see all politicians who have been found guilty of having their fingers in the till, having to repay their debt.  One Spaniard even joked the other day when he said that if Spanish politicians repaid all the money that they have allegedly stolen then the country would be one of the richest in the world!