"Our institutions work, crime is prosecuted and the economy is recovering", says Mariano Rajoy

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, offered up a response to the MP from Unidos Podemos [United We Can], Irene Montero, during the debate on the motion of no confidence that Podemos presented against the government in the Lower House of Parliament.

In his response, Mariano Rajoy defended the track-record of his government, and stressed that "no other government in this democracy has achieved comparable results".

Economic management

In this regard, the President of the Government pointed out that, following five years of recession, the Spanish economy has now enjoyed four straight years of growth at a rate of 3%, a figure that places Spain "at the head of the main economies in the Eurozone", at double the rate of the European average.

According to his explanation, this economic growth has translated into job creation and into an increase in the number of National Insurance contributors. Since 2014, half a million jobs a year have been created each year and the number of new National Insurance contributors is hitting record highs month after month.

Mariano Rajoy also highlighted that the number of households with everyone out of work has dropped, as have the numbers of long-term unemployed and young job seekers. In parallel, "the number of female National Insurance contributors has hit an all-time high".

The reality of Spain

President of the Government Rajoy recalled that "job creation is starting to lead to a reduction in the levels of inequality and poverty", as reflected in all the surveys.

Pool Moncloa/Diego Crespo

In this regard, he explained that "the main cause of inequality and poverty is unemployment, and fortunately job creation is increasing at an unprecedented rate".

The President of the Government claimed that "the reality, however you look at it", is "unyielding". "Our institutions work, crime is prosecuted, the economy is recovering, inequalities are starting to be corrected and jobs are being created as never before".

Dialogue and pacts

Mariano Rajoy also defended the government's ability to both enter into dialogue and to reach political agreements. "We are talking about pensions, about the education reform, about gender-based violence, about the financing of political parties. We have made pacts on the social discount in the electricity system for the most vulnerable users, the rise in the minimum wage and the ceiling on spending".

He also recalled that the General State Budget for 2017 was approved in the Lower House of Parliament "thanks to a pact between seven parties".

In relation to "co-existence between the State regions", President of the Government Rajoy pointed out that the Conference of Regional Presidents was "successfully" held back in January and that the reform of the system of regional financing is now underway.

In short, "there is dialogue and pacts are being reached that mean the country is being governed and is stable".

Fight against corruption

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoThe President of the Government reiterated his involvement in the fight against corruption. "I promised that I would fight corruption in Spain and I have kept my word". In this regard, he underlined that "we have taken measures and approved laws that "make corruption more difficult" because they frustrate "the underhand use of public funds", sentences have been made harsher for the corrupt, the job of the judges and public prosecutors has been made easier and what has been stolen must now be given back.

At any event, Mariano Rajoy stressed that "while there are too many corrupt individuals in Spain, Spain is not a corrupt country"; in other words, "corruption is not the rule in Spain, but rather the exception", because "corruption is not permitted in Spain, but pursued and prosecuted".

Motion of no confidence

Mariano Rajoy questioned the use of the motion of no confidence against his government presented by Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem-En Marea in the Lower House. In his opinion, a "frivolous use" has been made of this parliamentary tool to turn it into "a tool for provoking political unrest".

After responding to the MP, Irene Montero, by saying that her speech has painted "a very dark picture of a black legend", he added that, the reality is quite the contrary, "Spain is an exemplary nation, which found how to rise up on its own merits, which has received international praise and has an open and promising future".

According to Mariano Rajoy, the motion of no confidence presented is "a motion against stability in Spain and against all those who contribute to making this possible".

Reply to the candidate from Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem-En Marea

In his reply to Pablo Iglesias, the proposed candidate in the motion of no confidence, Mariano Rajoy stressed that a government led by the leader of Podemos "would be deadly for the country's well-being and for the model of co-existence that we have built".

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoIn his opinion, Pablo Iglesias should not be made President of the Government because he has presented a "substitute government programme", thinks of politics as "a mere spectacle", separates the citizens "into good and bad" rather than intending to govern for all and "twists reality for his own benefit".

Furthermore, the President of the Government criticised the candidate for being capable of switching political position whenever it suits him. "Confusion is not what one expects from a leader, or indeed a series of ever-changing ideas and a wildly veering strategy. That is quite the opposite of the stability needed by a country such as ours", he said.

Mariano Rajoy said he neither shares Pablo Iglesias' view of Spain and the future of its people, nor his concept of democracy. In this regard, he insisted that Parliament is the "cornerstone of a democratic system", that judges should be independent and that individual rights - including the freedom of expression - "are the most sacred for mankind".

Social and economic well-being

Mariano Rajoy argued that the investiture of Pablo Iglesias would jeopardise the economic recovery because "he intends, one by one, to amend the policies that have brought us out of the economic crisis and that have returned confidence to Spanish society, thus sowing instability and uncertainty".

The President of the Government added that Pablo Iglesias wants to revert, without beating about the bush, all the structural reforms that have improved the competitiveness of the Spanish economy and that "have brought us the strongest growth and highest rate of job creation of all the major Eurozone economies".

The President of the Government believes that an uncontrolled increase in public spending such as that proposed by the candidate in the recent budget debate and the tax increase that he recommends would merely serve "to return us to public deficit, economic imbalances and sink the economy".

Vision of Spain

Pool Moncloa/Diego CrespoWhen speaking to Parliament, the President of the Government regretted that the candidate did not clarify his vision of Spain and asked him to explain whether he believes in the unity of his country, what the pluri-national reality he is proclaiming actually is and whether he is willing to defend the sovereignty of the nation as a whole.

In his opinion, Pablo Iglesias maintains a position of "calculated ambiguity" stemming from political calculation. "In life, it is better to stand by that which one believes, one's convictions and principles, rather than political calculations because, when you stand by political calculations, you will always end up losing", he said.

The President of the Government underlined the need to dismantle "that flowery false rhetoric on the right to decide" and call things by their true name. "Referendum on self-determination, that is what we're talking about; or, in other words, a referendum on a part of Spain separating itself from the whole", he said. In this regard, he stressed that such a decision cannot be taken while "sidestepping the will" of the Spanish people as a whole.

Mariano Rajoy said that the Spanish Constitution is not untouchable and can be modified: "Anyone in the exercise of their freedom, anyone can consider and defend any position. However, when that affects the Spanish people as a whole, they must respect the democratic rules that those people and not others have put in place". Furthermore, he recalled that he has invited the President of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, to come to Parliament and defend his proposal.

The President of the Government stressed that he will not authorise anything that intends to break our democracy or its laws. "I expect the same clarity from you as that which I have just expressed myself", he said.