Mariano Rajoy believes that political instability is "the worst that could happen" following the elections

After acknowledging that it has been a "tough and complicated" legislature in which "difficult decisions" were necessary, Mariano Rajoy expressed "satisfaction" because, three and a half years on, "we are the European country with the highest growth, the European country creating the most jobs". He went on to explain that the task now consists of explaining "why we did what we did and the results that have been achieved".

The goal is to continue creating jobs

The President of the Government explained that employment must continue to be the main objective and, for this reason, "it is essential that no mistakes are made in terms of economic policy and we should not go back on the measures we have adopted". He stressed that all the figures on employment have improved, including those on youth unemployment and the long-term unemployed.

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoAs regards the temporary employment rate among new job contracts, Mariano Rajoy said that 76% are permanent contracts. However, he added that "there is a high level of temporary employment in Spain" because there are certain sectors, such as the tourism sector, that "make this inevitable".

The President of the Government also quoted various figures to show that "we are on the right path": 440,000 jobs were created in 2014; and that figure will be 600,000 in 2015. The more people in work and the more taxes collected, the better pensions, healthcare, education and social services will be, he said.

2016 Budget

Mariano Rajoy is convinced that the recently approved General State Budget for 2016 will be met. "Spain has complied with its budget every year; at least since I have been President of the Government", he said.
Furthermore, it has "always complied with the deficit", he stressed. When his government came to power, the deficit stood at 9%. Now it stands at 4.5% and this reduction has been achieved during a time of recession.

He also stressed that the economic improvement has allowed taxes to be lowered (Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax), a trend that will continue provided "there is more activity and employment". He explained that "public spending can also be increased" because "there is money to do so".

The party with the most votes should govern

When asked about the political situation following the elections, President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, said that "instability is the worst that could happen, a government without sufficient support". He went on to add that, at any event, what matters most is to maintain the economic policy put in place in the last four years because not only has it allowed "Spain to overcome a pre-bailout situation" but also "to start creating jobs".

As regards post-election alliances, the President of the Government said that he believes the party receiving the most votes should govern because "that is the most democratic, sensible and reasonable way to proceed". In this regard, he regrets how that was not the case in certain local councils and regional governments following the elections in May. "I saw how people who had won the elections were not able to govern due to alliances that formed afterwards", he said.

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoThe President of the Government also defended the validity of bipartisanship in Spain because the system "has worked" for the last 40 years. Furthermore, he explained that "the countries with the most progress, most wealth, where the most jobs are created, the best countries, are those countries where there are basically two main parties".

Efforts to combat corruption

Mariano Rajoy recognised that "the issue of corruption has hurt us a great deal", even "more than the economic situation itself", "because it is something that "irritates, bothers and upsets" the people. Nonetheless, he stressed that "very important laws against corruption were approved" during this legislature. The most recent of them created the Office for the Recovery and Management of Assets on Friday.

He also stressed that the Public Prosecutor's Office, the courts, the Spanish Guardia Civil and the Spanish Tax Agency "have acted entirely independently" on the corruption scandals.

Catalonia

As regards the situation in Catalonia, President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, explained that he has never rejected dialogue. The only thing he refused to do was "offer what is not mine to offer" because "the essence of Spain cannot only be decided by the people who live in a part of Spain, it is something to be decided by everyone in Spain".

Looking forward, he believes that the situation in Catalonia must be resolved "in the political arena" and by following the law.

Migratory crisis in Europe

In terms of the current migratory pressure, Mariano Rajoy said "this is the main problem facing the EU" in the short, medium and long term. He also said that "problems are resolved at source" and underlined his proposal to the EU: to allocate money to helping the countries where people are unable to live decent lives, whether due to a situation of war or poverty.

Questions from the audience

During the course of the interview, the President of the Government was asked a number of questions by several members of the public. One person asked about the cut-backs affecting healthcare and education. In his response, Mariano Rajoy recalled that, between 2009 and 2010, Spain lost 70 billion euros in tax revenue, meaning that "we were forced to make a significant effort to control the public deficit" and "prioritise". The Government of Spain chose not to touch pensions or unemployment benefits. Furthermore, "we also made a significant effort to maintain the major public services", such as education, healthcare and social services. He said that, in spite of "a very difficult situation", a great achievement has been made in "maintaining the greater part of the Welfare State".

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoSomeone else asked about the situation of crop and livestock farmers. In this regard, Mariano Rajoy highlighted the significance of the sector for the Spanish economy (agri-food sector exports amounted to 40 billion euros last year) and underlined the tough battle he fought in the EU during the negotiation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), obtaining 47 billion euros for Spain.

The situation of self-employed professionals was the subject of another question from the public. In his response, the President of the Government highlighted the significant effort made in this legislature "to help the self-employed and SMEs". Among other laws, he mentioned the Entrepreneur Support Act, the Youth Guarantee Plan and the National Insurance credits.

Finally, someone asked about renewable energies and electricity. Mariano Rajoy explained that the measures adopted by his government ended the so-called tariff deficit (27 billion euros), which led to a 69% increase in electricity bills in eight years.