IT IS Spain’s biggest corruption case in decades. Last month 37 businessmen and former politicians, including members of the ruling Popular Party (PP), went on trial on charges of fixing the government procurement system to steer construction contracts to their buddies. Frances Correa, the prime suspect, went by the nickname Don Vito, a character in the “Godfather” films. His alleged partners in crime dubbed themselves El Bigotes (“The Moustache”) and El Albondiguilla (“The Little Meatball”). Caribbean holidays and call girls were used as kickbacks, prosecutors say. The PP even produced a PowerPoint presentation to help mayors channel their gains. The cost to the public is estimated at €120m ($ 130m).
This kind of corruption is one reason Europeans are growing angry at governing elites. It is also a disturbing indicator of rot at the heart of European governance: all across the European Union, competition for government contracts is falling. According to the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) database, an archive of 4m purchases by European governments during the past decade, 17% of calls…
