The majority of Spaniards think that their Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy did not tell the truth about the "Barsenas" affair, according to the results of a poll published today.
According to the results of a survey by the Sugma Dos Institute, 72,1 percent of Spaniards think that Rajoy did not tell the truth when he denied the claims of Luis Barcenas, the former treasurer of his People's Party, on Thursday. Barcenas claims that the Spanish prime minister is among those who received illegal payments from him.
Barcenas is currently in custody and is being investigated for the way he managed the party's finances and for having secret accounts in a Swiss bank.
Rajoy's name is on the list of top members of the People's Party who allegedly received payments from Barsenas "below the grain".
Because of such allegations, 59,8 percent of Spaniards think that the current prime minister should resign.
Among supporters of the People's Party, 51,5 percent believe that Rajoy told the truth, while 43 percent are convinced that he lied.
The vast majority of Spanish oppositionists - 91,5 percent, think that the prime minister is telling lies, and six percent of them believe him.
Rajoy said on Thursday that he had made a mistake in trusting Barcenas, but added that he would not resign because of it.
He called the allegations of his corruption "lies and manipulations" that damage Spain's image.
In January of this year, the newspaper "Pais" published a list of officials of the People's Party who allegedly received illegal payments.
Barsenas, whose signature appears at the bottom of the list of payments, initially denied writing the document, but later said he had paid numerous undeclared bonuses in cash to Rajoy and other senior members of the People's Party.
Allegations of the corruption of Spanish officials in the very top of the state caused large anti-government protests.
Protesters and police clashed in mid-July, when more than 1.000 people gathered in front of the People's Party headquarters, calling on the government to resign.
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