The fiasco surrounding the coming hike in electricity rates is causing the Rajoy Administration no end of embarrassment.

Yet the Prime Minister almost welcomes this controversy and the ones over the abortion bill and street-protest restrictions, just as long it turns attention away from the gaping corruption scandal that besets the governing party.

First the Government announced a possible 2.5% increase to domestic electricity bills and then, staggeringly, announced that it could be just over 10%, before accusing the big power generating companies of fixing the energy-auction prices.

Consequently the Asociación Española de la Industria Eléctrica (Unesa) has ploughed into the Minister of Industry, José Manuel Soria, who they rebuked for launching very grave accusations of “price manipulation.” His actual words were: “There has been clear manipulation or actions to modify prices.”

Unesa, on the other hand, say that his energy reforms have been a total failure and he has trying to shift the blame for his failure onto companies and consumers.

In the meantime, the Government is frantically trying to get a price-increase figure ready before the end of the year, but what it finally turns out to be, you can bet that this umpteenth increase is going to please nobody; not the struggling domestic consumer nor business already drowning under increased taxes and stunted consumer demand.

(News: Spain)