Some opposition parties "falsely accused" Mas and "are not interested" in his Anti-Corruption Commission testimony, says Government Spokesman

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan Minister for the Presidency and Spokesman of the Government, Francesc Homs, said on Tuesday after President Artur Mas’ appearance before the Anti-Corruption Commission that some political parties “were not interested” in what Mas had to say but only in attacking his reputation. When asked why he thought some parties are not convinced by Mas’ explanations, Homs replied that some “will never be”. According to Homs, Mas has been falsely accused of wrong-doing and no one offered “any evidence” during the hearing to prove that he has been involved in any kind of illicit activity. Mas was asked to testify before the Anti-Corruption Commission following the Pujol scandal, which has seen his political mentor, the historical leader of the CiU and former president, Jordi Pujol, charged over tax-evasion.

Mas gave his testimony on Monday, when he stated he was at no point aware that the Pujol family had an undeclared bank account in Andorra. The Catalan President admitted he worked closely with Pujol, a man he defined as his “political father”, but said they never became “close friends”. Mas also argued that he has never been accused of any wrong-doing and that if he ends up in court it will be for allowing an informal referendum in November but “never for having been involved in a money scandal.

Francesc Homs said on Tuesday that Mas gave “all the explanations” he was asked to give and pointed out that he even answered the same questions more than once. “Don’t be naïve, expecting praise from the opposition after the hearing is almost like a chimera”, he said. The Government spokesman argued that some political parties are not convinced by Mas’ testimony because they are more concerned with “their own prejudices than in actually knowing the truth”.

“If the one accusing doesn’t bring any evidence and expects to be convinced by the testimony of someone by whom he doesn’t want to be convinced...we find ourselves in an impossible situation”, said Francesc Homs.

The leader of the People’s Party in Catalonia, Alícia Sánchez-Camacho, asked Mas to resign after what she thought was a “disappointing” hearing. Sánchez-Camacho was critical of the Catalan leader, saying it was not possible to have “a President that is not aware of anything” of what goes on around him. Mas replied that Sánchez-Camacho should not ask him to resign while her party “protects” Spanish President Mariano Rajoy. The PP is blocking in Madrid a hearing of Rajoy on the Bárcenas scandal.

The president of the Anti-Corruption Commission, David Fernández, from the Radical Left-Wing party CUP, said he was “satisfied” because Mas finally faced the Commission. However, he added he was not convinced by his explanations, as he and his party believe that the corruption scandals being scrutinised were not “individual” or “personal” issues but rather “a spreading cancer” in the whole of the traditional political system.