The PP had to deal with a stone-faced Navarrese in the Senate on Tuesday. The popular party brought the PSOE’s Secretary of Organization, Santos Cerdán, to the committee investigating the corrupt mask scandal with a clear intention: to show that he was the “godfather” – that was the word used by the two PP senators who intervened – of Koldo García. Icy as a rock, Cerdán responded with a strong defense. He admitted that he brought García to Madrid from Navarra, but only to perform security and chauffeur duties for the party. And he distanced himself from the role that José Luis Ábalos later assigned to him as an adviser at the Ministry of Transport. “He is neither my protege nor was he anyone in the Ferraz hierarchy,” he concluded.
During the interrogation, Cerdán faced not only the members of UPN, but also the ironies of ERC’s Joan Queralt, who remarked that Koldo García “must be a ghost” because “it seems like no one knows him.” But Queralt ended with a compliment: “You did much better than Mr. Illa [Salvador, former Minister of Health, who testified last week].” The hearing allowed Cerdán to provide a complete account of his relationship with García. He explained that García, in addition to serving as a voluntary driver and security officer for the PSOE in Navarre, volunteered to form a candidacy in the town where he resided, Huarte. He denied ever having a friendship with him. Cerdán brushed off comments about García working as a bouncer at a nightclub. The popular party pressed him about García’s conviction for assaulting a minor, while Cerdán pointed out that he was pardoned by the government and honored by the police for his work.
In 2017, during the PSOE primaries in which Pedro Sánchez defeated Susana Díaz, Cerdán called García to Madrid to guard the candidature’s endorsements for two nights. This caused tension and suspicion, which the PP interpreted as a potential “fraud.” Cerdán clarified that there was fear of what might happen. After Sánchez’s victory, Ferraz hired García as a driver for Ábalos, who then brought him to the Ministry of Transport as an adviser when the PSOE came to power. From there, Cerdán distanced himself, claiming he only sporadically spoke with García, the last time being in October 2023. He skirted questions about García’s lack of professional qualifications for certain roles, and denied knowing about García offering masks to ministries and autonomous communities.
Cerdán mentioned that he last saw Ábalos on February 25, when he informed him of his suspension from the party. He claimed that the PSOE acts promptly on corruption cases, unlike others, and suggested that both the former minister and his advisor could return to the party if proven innocent. The confrontation with the PP members included moments of laughter among the socialists, with questions about a possible property on La Castellana. Despite attempts to disconcert him, Cerdán remained composed and maintained his position throughout the questioning.
