Rajoy warns that will fight in the legislative

USPA NEWS - On Monday morning, 'El Programa de Ana Rosa' programme on Telecinco broadcast a report-interview with the President of the Government of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, which was recorded a few days ago at Moncloa Palace.

During a long and informal conversation with the journalist Ana Rosa Quintana, the President of the Spanish Government not only spoke about political affairs but also answered questions of a personal and family nature. Mariano Rajoy attributed some of the "merciless" criticism he has received from the opposition to his need at the time to adopt certain measures (such as freezing wages for civil servants and raising VAT). "When you are on the verge of bankruptcy, decisions need to be taken. Pensions are the only thing I haven't lowered during my time in office. We have readjusted everything else. The reason was simply because we were collecting 90 billion euros less in revenue than we were spending," he said.

Mariano Rajoy stressed that 20 December is the most likely date for the general elections. "I wanted to approve the General State Budget, and I cannot do that until the end of October. The only reason is because I want Spain to have a budget it can show Europe, thereby offering a sense of seriousness and formality," he said. On the matter of Catalonia, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, said that he will "forever stand firm on national unity". In his opinion, "it is the people of Spain who decide what Spain is".

Furthermore, the President of the Government recognised that certain communication errors were made during the course of this legislature by concentrating on the work in hand. "They talk about flaws in our communication policy" but, as he admitted, the mistake was his because he was the one who needed to communicate. Mariano Rajoy also spoke about other political leaders. In this regard, he asked Pedro Sánchez to explain what he intends to do. In response to whether the Ciudadanos party is the "generic brand" of the Partido Popular, he explained that Albert Rivera has his own party and takes his own decisions. As regards Pablo Iglesias, he said that, by becoming an MEP, he now forms part of "that very caste" he once criticised.

The President of the Government recognised that many PP voters stayed at home in May during the municipal and regional elections. However, he said he is willing to stand and fight in the general elections because "I sincerely believe that the political project I head up is now the most suitable for Spain." After highlighting his disappointment upon hearing of certain corruption cases, Mariano Rajoy said that "this matter has done us more harm than even those decisions we were forced to take in terms of our economic policy." Furthermore, he stressed that the people "who did what they shouldn't have done" have since been removed.

Later, Mariano Rajoy insisted after meeting with the parliamentary groups of the PP in Congress and in the Senate, general elections will not advance, which in his opinion is "very positive" for the interests of all Spaniards . "We are not discount period, we will continue to take decisions," he said. The president added that there are still many laws approved in Parliament and in the coming months, the Council of Ministers will continue to take important agreements, as it did at its last meeting in the field of public employees.