Four ministers watched last Wednesday’s eclipse from a privileged location: the Yebes Observatory (Guadalajara), where the sun’s occultation by the moon was total and left a historic image. It was there that the Government organized the institutional event on the occasion of the astronomical phenomenon, an event that was not without controversy on the political front. First, because it brought together members of the Executive while the crisis caused in Ceuta by the massive entry of irregular migrants remains unresolved. And second, because of the cost involved, which EL MUNDO revealed: 72,358 euros. For this reason, the PP does not want this to be overlooked without first investigating the details, and so the party submitted a series of questions and requests for information to Congress last Friday to clarify the fine print of the event.
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The party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo wants the Government to clarify, first of all, “which body or authority of the Ministry of Transport or the National Geographic Institute (IGN) authorized the use of the Observatory” for the institutional event, and in turn asks who “decided” that the space “remain closed to the public during that day”. It not only questions who made these decisions but also why: “What were the technical, organizational, or security reasons that justified the closure to the public?” the PP wants the Government to clarify.
Likewise, the main opposition party intends for the Executive to record, in writing and in an official parliamentary document, how much the event cost and which bodies “assumed expenses related directly or indirectly to said event”. In this regard, the PP refers to the catering services – there were six hours of open bar drinks, one lunch, and two cocktail-style dinners -, transportation, security, and organization provided for the event, as well as the activities and musical performance held. In connection with this, the Popular Party asks the Government if it “considers the use of these public resources [the cost] proportionate in an event with restricted access that determined the closure of the Observatory to the public and the adoption of access and circulation restrictions in the municipality.”
The Feijóo party also investigates the external company that took on the organization of the event. Only one company, based in the municipality of Alcobendas (Madrid), submitted a bid, and the Popular Party wants to know “what was the complete and itemized content of the awarded offer”.
Another issue the PP seeks to clarify is the number of guests at the event, and also how many actually attended – with this data, it asks to calculate “the total public cost per attendee”. It is recorded that the event was attended by the Minister of Science, Diana Morant; the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; the Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar López; and the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres. Also present were staff from the center and their families, national and international experts, and about 30 journalists. The PP demands to know “what institutional, scientific, professional, or protocol criteria were established to select the invited persons”.
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