Is called Miriam Gonzalezis from Valladolid, lawyer and wife of Nick Clegg, who was British Deputy Prime Minister between May 2010 and May 2015. She better than anyone knows what to be in the focus of the political and media opposition, but she did not even stay at home to protect her husband (as did Viri, wife by Mariano Rajoy) nor did he star in a controversy like that of Pedro Sánchez and his wife, which is not trivial. Of impeccable conduct, she affirms: “If I had done what Begoña Gómez did, they would burn me alive in Trafalgar Square.”
The lawyer, expert in International Law and founder of España Mejor, has assured that “there is little doubt that there is an appearance of irregularity because (Begoña) Gómez has supposedly written letters of support to companies in tenders for public funds” and that the conflict of interests is evident: “Sánchez blames the opposition and the extreme right for the public pressure on his wife, but he should also blame himself for not having put in place a system that would have protected her”. And he assures: “If Gómez were the wife of a British prime minister, the accusations would have been easily resolved by the Property and Ethics Office according to the United Kingdom’s ministerial code of ethics. As happened with Cherie Blair or even myself. The Office of Property would have guaranteed that a preventive system existed to inhibit the prime minister from any decision that could be directly or indirectly related to his wife’s work,” he explained on Antena 3.
Miriam González has assured that in Spain “There is no effective system to manage conflicts of interest of the families and spouses of politicians” and she has presented her personal case: “The day after the British coalition was agreed, they sat Nick and me down and told us that, since I was a lawyer, they were going to put me in a system in which I had to communicate with whom companies he contacted, not only which were clients but potential clients, and thus we, as administration, removed your husband from any type of decision that may directly or indirectly affect those companies,” he explained. “We were also very strongly advised, and when the British, who are not very emotional, tell you that, you get a little stiff, to leave it even if there was no conflict but it might seem like it.”
Finally, the lawyer has singled out Sánchez and urged him to take action: “The problem is not regulating the role of the wives of prime ministers but the role of presidents and ministers. If the Government asks that companies have codes of ethics and conduct, I don’t know why we don’t ask the Government, the president and the ministers. “The problem is theirs, not their partners.”
LinkedinBeloud