Feijóo to Sánchez: "If he knew, he would have to resign for corruption and if he didn't know, for incompetence"

Parliamentary situation of the investigation into the corruption cases cited by Feijóo

The parliamentary investigation that best fits the alleged corruption cases referred to by Alberto Núñez Feijóo is being carried out in the Senate, through the Investigation Commission on public contracts during the pandemic related to the intermediation of Koldo García and Operation Delorme. This commission is already formally constituted and operational, so the creation phase is concluded. It is currently in its central working phase: the hearings of senior officials, former public officials, and executives linked to the contracts under investigation. Additionally, the Senate has agreed on a deadline extension, confirming that the commission remains open and has not yet entered the final phase of drafting and approving conclusions.

Creation and constitution of the investigation commission

The formal origin of this investigation in the Senate is the initiative titled “Request for the creation of an investigation commission on public contracts made during the covid-19 pandemic related to the intermediation of Koldo García Izaguirre, as well as other possible corruption cases derived from the network investigated in Operation Delorme”, with file number (15)650/000002. According to the Official Senate Bulletin, this initiative has had a deadline extension, recorded in the latest registry action dated June 1, 2026, confirming that the commission's mandate has been extended and its work is ongoing (see publication).

From this request, the constitution and composition of the Investigation Commission on public contracts made during the covid-19 pandemic related to Koldo García Izaguirre and other possible corruption cases of Operation Delorme was approved, registered under file (15)540/000040. With its constitution, the investigation moved from the purely organizational phase (creation and member appointment) to the operational phase, with the capacity to approve work plans, lists of witnesses, and documentation requests (see publication).

Current phase: hearings in the Senate commission

At this moment, the commission's activity is focused on processing and holding hearings of individuals considered relevant to clarify public contracting during the pandemic and the alleged corruption networks. These hearings are processed as specific initiatives, which are admitted, approved, and scheduled.

Among the hearings already underway or approved, notable examples include:

• The hearing of the former director of the National Institute of Health Management (INGESA), Alfonso Jiménez Palacios, registered as (15)715/000013, currently in the ongoing hearings phase (see publication).
• The hearing of the former deputy director general of Planning and Management of Infrastructure and Means of the State Secretariat of Security, Daniel Belmar Prieto, file (15)715/000014, also in the ongoing hearings phase (see publication).
• The hearing of the former president of Adif and former Secretary of State for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, file (15)715/000016, also processed as an ongoing hearing (see publication).

Other hearings have already reached the “approved hearing” phase, indicating that the commission has formally given the green light and only their specific scheduling remains:

• The former director general of Organization and Inspection of the Ministry of Transport, Javier Sánchez Fuentefría, file (15)715/000088, with the last action on November 6, 2024 (see publication).
• The former director of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, José Antonio Álvarez Fernández, file (15)715/000086, also with last action on November 6, 2024 (see publication).
• The former commander of the Civil Guard, Rubén Villalba Carnerero, file (15)715/000076, whose hearing has been approved since October 24, 2024 (see publication).
• Former executives of Red.es David Cierco Jiménez de Parga, file (15)715/000078 (see publication), and the former corporate director of international development of Globalia, Lisandro Menu-Marque, file (15)715/000079 (see publication), whose hearings are also recorded as approved.

Alongside these, other hearing requests are in somewhat earlier phases, such as that of the former director general of Red.es Alberto Martínez Lacambra, file (15)715/000074, recorded as admitted for processing since October 23, 2024 (see publication), or the Director General of People Management of Adif-High Speed, Michaux Miranda Paniagua, file (15)713/000077, in the ongoing hearings phase (see publication).

Situation in the Congress of Deputies

According to the parliamentary information consulted, no investigation commissions are currently identified in the Congress of Deputies processing this same matter. The main and most advanced specific parliamentary investigation on COVID contracts and the so-called “Koldo network” is therefore concentrated in the Senate.

In summary, the investigation into the alleged corruption cases linked to pandemic contracting that Feijóo often cites in his political discourse is currently in an intermediate parliamentary phase: commission already created and constituted, deadline extended, and hearings in full development, without having yet reached the final stage of drafting and voting on the conclusions report.

Trajectory of Alberto Núñez Feijóo before leading the national PP

Before being elected president of the Popular Party in April 2022, Alberto Núñez Feijóo had built a long and gradual career in public administration and Galician politics. A law graduate and civil servant of the Xunta, he moved from technical positions in regional ministries to high-responsibility posts in the State administration, such as president of INSALUD and Correos. Later, he returned to Galicia, where he became a minister, first vice president, leader of the PPdeG, and president of the Xunta with several absolute majorities. This trajectory, strongly marked by management and territorial power in Galicia, is the base from which he made the leap to national PP leadership.

Education and early steps in Galician administration

Feijóo was born in 1961 in Os Peares (Ourense) and studied Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In 1985, he passed the exams for the Senior Corps of the General Administration of the Xunta de Galicia, starting his career as a civil servant in the regional administration.[1][2] Various biographies and profiles indicate that in his early days he participated in a temporary workers' union and that, after that stage, he clearly oriented himself towards management from offices, under the protection of leaders like José Manuel Romay Beccaría.[3]

His leap to political and institutional responsibilities occurred in 1991, when he was appointed technical secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Forests of the Xunta de Galicia.[4][5] Shortly after, he performed similar functions in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, combining this work with positions of responsibility in Sergas.

Health stage and leap to State administration

Between 1992 and 1996, Feijóo served as vice president and secretary general of the Galician Health Service (Sergas), consolidating his profile linked to health management.[5] With the arrival of the PP to the central government in 1996, he moved to the State administration: he was appointed secretary general of Health Assistance in the Ministry of Health and Consumption and, simultaneously, president of INSALUD.[6][2]

His career in Madrid continued in the field of public companies: between 2000 and 2001 he was managing director of Correos y Telégrafos, and from 2001 until January 2003 he presided over the State Society of Correos y Telégrafos.[5] The press and biographies highlight this stage as a key phase in building his image as a public manager, accustomed to leading large state organizations.[7][8]

Return to Galicia: minister and vice president of the Xunta

In January 2003, Feijóo returned to Galician politics as minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Housing of the Xunta de Galicia.[2][5] A year later, in September 2004, he was appointed first vice president of the Xunta, with Manuel Fraga as president.[6] This position placed him at the forefront of regional power and consolidated him as one of Fraga's possible successors within the Galician PP.

At the same time, his internal weight in the Galician Popular Party increased. Biographical profiles agree that in this stage he combined institutional projection with growing organic influence, in a PPdeG preparing for the transition after Fraga's long cycle.[9]

Presidency of the PPdeG and the Xunta de Galicia

The turning point came in 2006, when Alberto Núñez Feijóo was elected president of the Galician Popular Party, becoming the political heir of Fraguism and leader of the regional opposition.[2] From that position, he directed the PPdeG's strategy until the 2009 regional elections, in which he achieved the Presidency of the Xunta de Galicia.[6]

From 2009, and always before his leap to the party's national leadership, Feijóo renewed the presidency of the Xunta in successive elections, obtaining four absolute majorities that consolidated Galicia as his main base of political power.[10][11] This territorial strength gave him the profile of an influential “baron” within the national PP and relevant support for the party leadership in Madrid.

National projection prior to 2022

Throughout those years, Feijóo combined his role as regional president with growing visibility in state politics. Although still focused on Galicia, his figure repeatedly appeared in internal PP speculation as a possible successor in national leadership, thanks to his image as a moderate manager and his record of electoral victories.[1][10]

This professional and political trajectory —civil servant, senior state official, public company manager, and above all, president of the Xunta and the PPdeG— explains why, after the PP's internal crisis in 2022, Feijóo could present himself as a consensus candidate and was proclaimed president of the Popular Party at the extraordinary congress in Seville on April 2, 2022, thus closing his long stage as regional leader to head the party nationally.[2]