The Fall Of King Jaume

It was in November 2009 when Jaume Matas' world began to cave in. It was the inventory of fixtures and fittings and luxury items at his so-called "palacete" in Palma that exposed the world he inhabited and that the press delighted in itemising. Following a police raid, the world came to know about Jaume's world. Marble bathrooms, oakwood floors, numerous paintings and artworks, any amount of state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and security systems, 150 or more suits, 50 pairs of shoes. Oh, and a toilet-roll holder, valued at 319 euros.

The inventory might not have been that remarkable had it been the inventory of one of Mallorca's regular filthy rich. But this was the home and the inventory of the former president of the Balearics. Estimates as to the value of the palacete vary, but it was said that some two million euros had been spent on renovations alone.

Jaume is now sitting in front of a judge who will decide his fate: the first of his fates, so many are the charges against him. Old friends are deserting him, coming to agreements with prosecutors in return for leniency and for dropping Jaume ever deeper into the mess of the vanity and folly that led him to a court in Palma.

Jaume. King Jaume V. With his palacete. A home fit for kings. The King of Mallorca and the Balearics who, like old kings of Mallorca, could dispense favours, some of which the prosecutors have shown an interest in, and who ruled with such power that no one seemed able or willing to question him or to question how he came to possess the trappings of such ostentatious wealth.

Among those who didn't question this wealth were the press. They might have wanted to, but they didn't. Nor did they question other aspects of Matas' second administration between 2003 and 2007. According to one of those who has testified at the Matas trial, there were rumours in journalistic circles regarding payments that the Matas government had been making to the journalist who is also on trial with Matas, Antonio Alemany. Rumours, but no more.

With hindsight, one now senses that the press were hinting at the questions that might have been asked when there were reports of the speedy way in which Matas left politics and left Mallorca for a job in the United States after he lost the election in 2007.

It was the election defeat that opened the door to investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. But the door, again with hindsight, was ajar, if only slightly, even during Matas' time as president. It was the Andratx corruption case, one that involved the former mayor of the town and also a member of the then government, that first caused there to be a knock on the door.

Matas demanded to know of the Spanish national attorney-general why prosecutors were rummaging around in Mallorcan affairs. It didn't get him very far. But this was probably the beginning of what brought Matas and others to the court in Palma. Jaume's kingdom was being invaded, and once he was dethroned and had gone into American exile, the prosecutors' efforts gathered momentum.

In addition to his wealth, Matas also coveted the company of celebrities and of the famous. He sought the kudos of prestigious events and projects, not least the building of the Palma Arena velodrome, which is at the centre of the allegations against him. It is how over twice the budget for the arena came to be spent and who benefited that formed the basis of prosecutor investigations.

In seeking the company of the famous, the Royal Family became embroiled with King Jaume. He has now also been indicted in connection with the investigation of Iñaki Urdangarin, the Duke of Palma and the real King's son-in-law. As part of that investigation, it has been confirmed that an immediate payment of over 300,000 euros to the Duke's institute was agreed to a month before the 2007 election.

The occupation of King Jaume's palacete was when his world started to fall apart, and the palacete will soon no longer be his. It is to be auctioned off as he cannot keep up with interest payments. By the time it is, his fate may have been decided. He continues to protest his innocence, but whatever the outcome of the trial, his vanity has been laid bare. Yet for all this, there are more questions to be asked. And one has to do with relationships with those who didn't do much by way of questioning.


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