“The Penitential” by Felipe

One million euros price for 120 hectares of land in an area of ​​special environmental protection and with a 600 square meter house that is already being rehabilitated. These are the great numbers of “El Penitencial”, the estate in the Sierra de Guadalupe, in Cáceres, which the former President of the Government Felipe González, 71 years old, has just acquired to enjoy a golden retirement next to his current one. wife, Mar García Vaquero, 52. The socialist leader, who has been financially harmed by the divorce from Carmen Romero, thus fulfills his old dream of having a country house to spend the weekends.

González has bought the farm from businessman Joaquín Vázquez. This is a builder related to the Franco family through the marriage of one of his daughters, close to the King and who did business with Mario Conde before the former banker's fall from grace. In addition, Vázquez, who years ago carried out a remodeling of the Zarzuela palace, has also maintained a friendly relationship for years with the Asturian Francisco Sitges, former president of Asturiana de Zinc.

Sitges and Vázquez are part of what was called the “clan of the 4 seasons”, which usually met in a Madrid restaurant owned by Miguel Arias, a close friend and ski teacher of the Monarch. Jaime Cardenal, a now deceased businessman, who shared those strong ties of friendship with the King, was also part of the group.

The members of the “clan” – and also Don Juan Carlos – went hunting with some regularity at the “El Común” farm, owned by Vázquez, of which the land that Felipe González has just acquired is part. By the way, the former president of the Government has been another regular guest of the builder during the last twenty years, although the residents of Guadalupe have never seen him walking through its streets. The Koplowitz sisters, among other prominent businessmen, also enjoyed the estate.

“El Penitencial”, a name that González will try to change, is close to a military base and a heliport. With access via the road that connects the Guadalupe mountain range with Navalmoral de la Mata, the farm is very difficult to locate, since it is located in a very rugged territory with lush vegetation.

The rehabilitation works of the two-story house of “El Penitencial”, which has been disused for years, have already begun, according to the newspaper “El Mundo” last Saturday. The license was not presented to the Villar de Pedroso City Council directly by González. Perhaps with the aim of not revealing the transaction, the request was made through the company Agrícola El Común, owned by Vázquez.

However, a daughter of the former president, María González Romero, would have telephoned the City Council last Thursday to inquire personally about the necessary procedures to register a couple of Romanian nationality, who, according to information from “El Mundo”, will act as guard. of the farm. González's daughter would also have asked about the schools in the area where the children of the future guards could attend. In principle, they will go to the center of Guadalupe, which is located twelve kilometers away.

In addition to the efforts for the rehabilitation of the house, the Alía City Council, the other Cáceres municipality that houses the very extensive possession of “El Común”, has recently received a request for a new medium voltage electrical line. In this case, the request is from the Iacon consultancy, which is owned by González.

According to Javier Chicote in the book “Elite Socialists”, Felipe González's different professional activities and assignments give him an annual income of around 600,000 euros. He is an independent director of Gas Natural, with a salary of 126,500 euros compatible with his public remuneration as former president. His fee as a speaker exceeds 80,000 euros.

González created Iacon Consultoría in 2011 and then the venture capital management company Tagua Capital, with his son-in-law, Eric Bergasa, as a partner. The historic socialist leader was recently forced to freeze Tagua due to lack of investments. Tagua's is not the only economic setback that Felipe González has had recently. According to various information, MEP Carmen Romero did not willingly accept the breakup of a 39-year marriage. In addition to keeping the marital home in Somosaguas (Madrid), he demanded much harsher conditions than usual for a property regime like the one he had with the former president, who, despite everything, already has the property he longed for.