Spain's Political Standoff Roiled by Panama as Soria Quits

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Mariano Rajoy’s attritional campaign to hold on to power in Spain suffered an unexpected setback on Friday when a minister in his cabinet quit over his links to an offshore company listed in the Panama leaks.

Acting Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria’s resignation may upend the caretaker prime minister’s political calculus as he watches the clock run down toward May 2, the final date for his rivals to seal an alliance to oust him. Almost four months after his People’s Party lost its parliamentary majority, the premier is betting that a fresh vote likely to be held in June may tip the balance of power in his favor.

“This news comes at a very bad time for Rajoy with a new electoral campaign probably starting soon,” Antonio Barroso, a political analyst at Teneo Intelligence in London, said by phone. “The rest of the parties will use this against the PP.”

The leak this month of millions of pages of financial records from the Panamanian law firm, exposing billions of dollars hidden in tax havens around the world, has set off a global furor. Seeking to contain the fallout from the scandal -- implicating everyone from world leaders to prominent business people -- some governments have pledged to crack down on tax evasion and money laundering to help regain public trust.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/spain-s-political-standoff-roiled-by-panama-as-minister-resigns

[KoKo]

1. I have to wonder....

Are the "Panama Papers" signalling "Regime Change?"

A new way..?

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2. They aren't signals, they're chickens coming home to roost.

Ruling elites rely on control of information, when they are exposed, things tend to break down.

The more they need to control, the more vulnerable they are. The smart ones, therefore, minimize their exposure by lying as little as possible. The dumb ones think they have discovered a new trick and lie until they get caught. In the USA we have entire industries devoted to it.