Speech by President of the Government at event organised by Seville Chamber of Commerce Foundation at Antares Club

2015.7.22

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Mr delegate of the Government in Andalusia; Mr Francisco Herrero, President of the Seville Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Mr President of the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce; sponsors; dignitaries; ladies and gentlemen; dear friends and Mr president of the People's Party of Andalusia.

It is a great pleasure for me to be in Seville, a city that is not only a World Heritage Site, but a source of pride for all the people of Andalusia and for all the people of Spain, and a driving force for the whole of southern Spain. It is also a pleasure to be here in this patio of the Antares Business Club, and to be taking part in an event organised by the Seville Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

I would like to thank you for this invitation from the bottom of my heart, and also for the words of Mr Francisco Herrero and, of course, the generous presentation by my friend Juanma Moreno. He is a person who dedicates his time, his life and the best of himself working to ensure that things greatly improve in Andalusia and in Spain as a whole. And I thank him for it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Just over a year ago - and Francisco Herrero and Juan Manuel Moreno both mentioned this in their speeches - on 15 July, in fact, 2014 - I had the good fortune to share with many of you some reflections that I tried to pass on regarding the trends in the Spanish economy since 2011 when I took up the responsibility that I now hold, the measures that the government had implemented until then, until 15 July 2014, and more importantly, how we thought the situation would develop in the future and what steps we were going to take in government after that 15 July 2014.

At the time I dared suggest to you that you should invite me back in July 2015 to see where we stood and to see what had changed since then and what the Government's intentions would be from that date on; in other words, starting today. You have invited me, and I feel very honoured; and, with your permission, I will take advantage of this opportunity to answer these questions.

I am going to divide my speech for the purpose of greater clarity - which is not easy - into four parts: the first, a very brief summary, very brief I repeat, of the situation of the Spanish economy at the close of 2011 and in the years 2012, 2013 and up to July 2014, which was when I was here; secondly, I will try to explain where we were at in July 2014, what I said to you then, and here I will also be very brief in this part of my speech; third, I will say how we stand today, of course from my point of view; and fourth, something I think is most important, what we -the Government of Spain- are going to do starting today and what we think will happen in our country over the coming months. I will divide my speech into these four parts.

First, a reminder of the economic situation of Spain in the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and up to July 2014. At the end of 2011, Spain as you recall was in recession. Unemployment had increased by more than three million people in a single term of office; we had all the economic imbalances possible: a budget deficit, the foreign sector and inflation; there were many problems to finance ourselves - you will recall the situation of the risk premium and interest rates, and there was also some threat of a bailout and bankruptcy for our country. The perfect storm.

What did we do in the years 2012, 2013 and up to mid-2014? First, stop the threat of bankruptcy and bailout. I won't go into details, because this is well known by all of you. Second, work to start to grow and create jobs, and for that we had to correct the imbalances of the Spanish economy, above all taking measures in two areas: fiscal consolidation and structural reforms.

I won't go into details, because you know them very well, and because it is in the past; but I would simply like to leave two ideas with you: the Spanish people made an enormous effort to reduce the public deficit and they did so in a period of economic recession, because as I will explain to you later, the years 2012 and 2013 were still years of negative growth in our country. That was fiscal consolidation, the reduction of the deficit; it was very important for the results that would come later.

The second idea is the structural reforms. I sincerely believe that I am not exaggerating if I say that this was the great economic undertaking of our term in office. There were structural reforms, some of them of enormous scope; I don't want to bore you, but I will simply mention them in passing: the labour reform, budget stability, a complete and absolute overhaul of the financial system, energy, pensions and entrepreneurship; all these are key for something very important for businesses and so for the country as a whole, which is the competitiveness of the economy, to which Francisco Herrero referred in his initial speech.

The second point of my speech is what happened in 2014. Before, however, I would like to say that the results in both 2012 and 2013 were not good. The year 2012 was a very bad year for the Spanish economy. Growth was -2.1% and at the end of 2012, our first year in government, there were more people unemployed than when we came to power at the end of 2011. The year 2013 was also very bad, but it was better than 2012. The economy declined by 1.2%, but there was something else, and that something was that in the third and fourth quarter of 2013 there was growth in Spain; minimal growth, but growth. And there was another point that is also very important; at the end of 2013 there were fewer people unemployed in Spain than at the end of 2012. It wasn't much, but they were figures that encouraged us to continue working with even greater zeal, if possible.

The most important thing about these years 2012 and 2013 is that we corrected many of these economic imbalances, about which some people say "you're talking about macro-economics"; yes, but if you don't fix the macro-economy, there is no micro-economy or welfare and wealth for anyone.

That was what happened in the years 2012 and 2013.

What happened in 2014? And here I come to the second part of my speech. What happened up to July, only to July, when I came here? How did we stand then? What did we do then and what did I say on that 15 July 2014 in this very forum?

In July 2014 - I've looked at my speech, of course - I said many things, but the most significant was the following, "This is the year of change in the Spanish economy, 2014". At that time I could already tell you that the macro-economic data were continuing to improve: the deficit, the foreign sector, exports, inflation, the risk premium... and that we were growing, because in the first quarter of 2014 they were the only data that I had then, in July; we were the second fastest growing country in the Eurozone, behind only Germany. What's more, I said, "This year, at last, the trend in employment is changing; it is the human face of economic recovery."

I gave you one piece of data, which for me was very illustrative, about the change of trend. I told you, "In February this year - February 2014 - for the first time since June 2008, in other words 68 months later, a month was better than the same month the previous year in terms of people registered in the Social Security system." Here, in February 2014, there was a turning point. Since then, each month, for example, June this year, has been better than June last year. Here, I repeat, in February 2014, there was a turning point.

I also explained to you what the growth forecasts were (we had already corrected them). I said, "In 2014 we are going to grow by 1.2%." In the end, there was even more welcome news: we grew by 1.4%. And I also told you that in 2015 we were going to grow by 1.8%. Fortunately, we have also had to revise this growth forecast upward.

But in 2014, apart from all this I told you what our intentions were; in other words, what we were going to do in the second half of 2014 and in 2015. I said to you: "I will continue with the same economic policy, reducing the deficit and implementing structural reforms." And I announced here, I did in fact announce it here, the reform of personal income tax and the reform of corporate income tax. I announced it here and I said, "They are going to be cut and they are going to be cut because now they can be." Before it was quite simply impossible, unless we wanted to go bankrupt; something that I fear no-one wanted.

The cut in personal income tax was going to take place over two years: 2015 and 2016. We have been able to bring it forward and this means that we are leaving 1.06 billion euros in the pockets of the people of Andalusia, an average of 324 euros per person in the pockets of the 3,253,628 personal income taxpayers in Andalusia.

I announced that we were going to continue to implement reforms (personal income tax and corporate income tax); I also announced a package of measures that were subsequently approved to improve the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises. And in the end I said to you, "There is a lot to do, but we can now face the future with a different outlook". Because there was already growth, competitiveness was already increasing, and the imbalances were being reduced and jobs were beginning to be created.

Here I come to the third part of my speech: how do we stand today, on 22 July 2015, one year and seven days later? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are clearly in a better position. I say this with great pride and much satisfaction. It is clear that there are people who say that we are worse than ever, but believe me we are clearly better.

We are continuing to correct the economic imbalances: we are still reducing the deficit - and I repeat, this is key; inflation is under control and is better than in the Eurozone, so we are gaining competitiveness which, of course, is key if companies are to generate jobs; and many people whose wages have not been raised or even frozen have had their purchasing power maintained.

The foreign sector had record exports in 2014. That is key. In proportion to our gross domestic product, only Germany beats us on the export front; not France, Italy, or any of the other major OECD countries. Exports are also very important in the service sector. And this year, in 2015, we are also doing very well there, with growth in exports of 4%.

What is the most important thing to have occurred this year? Economic growth of 0.9% in the first quarter and 1% in the second; which means that we are growing more than anyone else in Europe and we are growing above the rate of other major economies. And above all, what is most important, what justifies all these efforts and makes sense of the policies that have been implemented over the years is the unemployment situation. The latest figures we have seen for June for unemployment and the Social Security system encourage us to continue to work with all the strength of which we are capable. Unemployment is falling by an annual 7.4% and the Social Security system is growing by 3.4% per year. I repeat; that is key, and as I will tell you later, this is the goal for the coming years.

The most significant thing is that I can now say the following here today: in Spain there are now more people in work than when we came to government; in Spain there are now more people in the Social Security system than when we came to government; and in Spain there are now fewer people unemployed than when we came to government.

When I was here in July last year, on 15 July, I said that this would be the goal for this term of office and I believed that by the end of 2015 I could make the statement I have just made here in July 2015. Without doubt, that is the clearest sign of how the Spanish economy is progressing, although, as I will tell you shortly, we still have many, perhaps too many, matters pending.

With respect to the rest of the data, you know the figures very well: tourism is doing well; retail sales are recovering; sales from corporations as well; car registrations have grown at a year-on-year rate of 40.05%; registrations of industrial vehicles by 44%... In foreign investment, we have been the European country that has received most foreign investment, and among the major western economies only the United States, Australia and Canada are ahead of us. There is also a good level of foreign portfolio investment and housing sales are beginning to recover, as is even the construction sector.

But, well, I don't want to bore you, although I did want to refer to one issue, because it is important and it is important above all for businesspeople, particularly for SMEs and because I also referred to it in my speech on 15 July last year.

Last year, I said here that I was not satisfied with the credit situation in our country, that it was pending resolution and that we were going to put all our efforts into it. Well, the latest data from the Bank of Spain have been positive: in May 2015 - and these are the latest data, and the source is the Bank of Spain - loans to SMEs of under one million euros have increased by 10.3% on May last year. That is a very positive fact. And household loans for homes increased by 22% on the same month last year, also very positive; and consumer finance has risen by 14% in a year. So in household loans as a whole the increase was 18%. These figures are important and decisive for a continued recovery of the Spanish economy.

But price is also important. Loans to SMEs stand at 4.46%, according to Bank of Spain figures, and at the start of our term in office they stood at 4.97%. Mortgages are at 2.28%, and they were at 3.66%; while the most expensive credit - consumer finance - stands at 7.98%, compared with 8.23% at the start of our term in office.

I repeat, these are important data and the most important thing is that we should continue with them into the future.

Now I am coming to the last part of my speech. What are we going to do in what is left of our term in office? What will happen, in our opinion, of course? And what are the threats or issues that could harm us in the future, also in my opinion?

I'm not going to surprise anyone when I say that we are going to continue along the path we are following. I believe that we are moving in the right direction. I think there is still a long way to go, but we are moving along the right path. I am not going to blind you with bright ideas, quaint notions or promises that can't be kept. I understand that others do what they consider is right and fitting. Don't expect this from me, because I already have sufficient experience to know that is of no use, except for generating concern and causing problems.

So we have to persevere. We have to maintain the cost control policies. We continue to have a large public deficit and that forces us to go to the markets, and you already know the fact that the more debt you have, the less free you are. So it is essential to cut the public deficit. In 2016, the public deficit has to be under 3% and that will be the target we set ourselves in the State Budget, about which I will talk later. And I will tell you more: history, past history and recent history, demonstrates that when you spend what you don't have, you end up having problems.

The next item is, we will continue with the structural reforms. As I said before and you know this, we have carried out many; but we must continue, because the world is going too fast and we have to get ahead. To the extent that revenues allow it, we will continue to cut taxes. We have cut personal income tax and next year a second part of the corporate income tax cut is planned. But if the situation allows, we will cut taxes.

Talking of taxes, Greece now has three VAT bands: 6%, 13% and 23%. You can draw what conclusions you like from that, and I will refer to them later on.

We will continue with the reform of the public administration, which is a very important reform. It is difficult for public opinion to give it attention, because these are very dry subjects, but it represents a key cost for taxpayers. And we are improving one of the aspects that Mr Francisco Herrero referred to in his speech: I mean, what we need is less bureaucracy, less red tape and a more responsive system. We are absolutely aware of that. The aim is to make life easy for people who have, among other things, the social function of generating welfare and wealth.

We are going to continue working on another subject, that is neither easy nor comfortable, which is market unity.

And talking about what we are going to do in the near future, I would like to comment on two issues: the State Budget and regional funding.

On 31 July, at the end of this month, the government will approve the State Budget for 2016 and will submit it to Parliament on 4 August. The aim is to abide by the law, transmit security and certainty and maintain normality and stability, which are very important for the economy as well.

The Budget will set a deficit target, as I mentioned earlier, of under 3%, because we have to persevere in these policies. And of course, as I have just mentioned, we are going to continue with the reformist policies that have worked so well over these years.
The Budget will also include the transfers to the regional government accounts, which will increase considerably, because they are due an increase at this time; they will increase, and this will therefore have an impact on public services. We calculate - they are not very strict figures, but we calculate - that regional funding will increase in 2016 by more than 7 billion euros and we calculate that in the case of Andalusia it will increase by 11%, around 1.7 billion euros.

In addition, the existence of the extraordinary liquidity mechanisms means a significant saving for regional governments, which in the case of Andalusia will amount to 500 million euros in 2016; among other things, because the funding is provided by the State and the interests on loans will be at 0%. In 2011, there were regions that had finance at 7.75%, the so called "patriotic bonds"; then they couldn't finance themselves because no one would lend them money in any market and then the State had to intervene and today they are financed at 0% until we emerge from what is still the difficult situation of our economy.

Next year in 2016 we will talk about regional funding. This is a subject of enormous complexity, where everyone has the same opinion, and they are right to hold it; everyone believes that they should have more funds than those that they actually receive. No one says that they are content with the regional funding levels. I myself was Vice-President of the Regional Government of Galicia some years ago now, and I had to negotiate the regional funding; and of course I didn't agree with the regional funding; and even if I agreed with the regional funding, I said that I didn't agree with the regional funding. So this is a subject that some of us are familiar with from way back.

It was impossible to modify the model of regional funding, but not because we like the model of regional funding, because I for one voted against it. It was a model approved by the Socialist Party, well within their rights, because they could do so. I didn't approve, I voted against the model of regional funding because it seemed to me that it was not good and in this I agree with some of those who complain now, but it was impossible because, in politics and when it comes to governing, as in so many facets of life, you have to have your priorities clear and the priority that Spain had in this term of office was to avoid bankruptcy, avoid a bailout and to begin to grow and create jobs, as all of you who are here present are well aware. And because really, rather than distribute nothing, it was better for all of us to put our shoulders to the wheel and try to get us out of the mess.

Now the working group in the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council has been activated. It is working on this matter, there will be conclusions on this issue and in 2016 we will between us all have to tackle the issue of regional funding, jointly and with a willingness to reach agreement.

So this is what we are going to do in the near future. Now, what will happen? Of course, what we are going to do, we know what we are going to do; what will happen does not depend so much on us, but I believe that I can tell you what will happen.

This year 2015, what remains of 2015, will go well. I have already said that there was growth of 0.9% and 1% in the last two quarters; the International Monetary Fund talks about growth of 3.1%; there is no doubt that we are the country that will grow most in Europe and we will grow more than double the figure for the European Economic and Monetary Union. Who would have said that in 2012! The OECD says that we are going to grow at 2.9%, and the Spanish analysts' consensus is for 3.1%, and the government says 3.3%... It doesn't really matter; there will be a significant economic growth. And next year, 2016, economic growth will also be significant in our country.

What will happen with employment? Since January 2014, and this is a very relevant fact, there are 900,000 more people in the Social Security system. I repeat; this is the most relevant, the most human figure, and undoubtedly the one that satisfies me most in my position as President of the Government. The final piece of data, as I said before, talks of growth of 3.4% year-on-year. This year more than 600,000 jobs will be created in Spain, this year in 2015, over the whole year, from 1 January to 31 December. Last year, the figure was 440,000, so in the last two years of our term in office more than 1 million jobs will be created in Spain.

Now, this is clearly insufficient and the aim must be to reach 20 million people in work. That has to be our goal, which means that in the next term in office we will have to create, meaning you among others, 500,000 jobs each year. And it can be done, because if last year 440,000 jobs were created and this year the figure will be 600,000, that means an average of 500,000 over the next four years can be achieved, provided that there are no foolish measures when it comes to economic policy. This is key for creating jobs, and this is what measures the success of a country, and that is what allows us to tackle the rest of the problems we have pending.

There is much talk of funding the public services, yes; but without jobs there are no payments into the Social Security system and so it is more difficult to improve pensions; and without jobs there are no people who can consume, who pay taxes, and so revenues are lower and it is more difficult to meet the needs of the fundamental public services.

Today there is also much talk of inequality. The key in the fight against inequality is employment and the key for ensuring employment is to generate opportunities, and that is where education and training come in.

These are the two major subjects for the future and this is the goal that I will propose for the next four years in our country.

With respect to the rest, I won't bore you; the key in 2015 is growth and employment; private investment will continue to do well, as will household consumption; public consumption will be lower. I believe we are going to continue to improve exports, inflation will be negative this year and positive next year.

Problems on the horizon, in my modest opinion, of course? Catalonia, what is happening there doesn't help. I will explain my position.

I am going to defend - and it is worth making things clear - the unity of Spain, national sovereignty, what is Spain is decided by all the people of Spain and not part of them, equality between Spanish people, solidarity, freedom and fundamental rights. In other words, I will defend the fundamental core of the Spanish Constitution, because first of all I believe in it, and then because it is my obligation.

Second, I am going to defend the law. Outside the law, nothing is possible in any facet of life, but within the law, many things are possible.

We are going to commit ourselves to stability, certainty, a Spanish Catalonia, a European Catalonia that is inside, not outside the European Union, where it appears that some want to lead it. We are going to argue that no one has to give up any of these three conditions: being European, Spanish and Catalan. We are going to defend our history, what unites us, what has been, is and will be many more things in the future. We are going to fight to be where the world is, with increasingly fewer borders and fewer barriers. And we will of course never agree with those who want to break up what has been together for centuries and divide all the Spanish citizens and above all, all the citizens of Catalonia.

Ladies and gentlemen, in Spain the law will be obeyed, and if anyone seeks to break it, they must know that we are not going to allow it and that there are things that are not seen in any civilised country in the world, luckily for all civilised countries.

Now to the second issue that concerns me and that also generates a good deal of uncertainty. We have lost a great deal of credibility with an economic policy that led us to results that you all know at the end of 2011 and in 2012. We lost a great deal of credibility because we had a public deficit of over 9%, which is not something that anyone can imagine. We lost a great deal of credibility because for years we had made no kind of structural reforms and we lost a great deal of credibility due to the economic results at the time. It is extremely difficult to recover credibility, as you all know. Recover credibility is one of the hardest things but it is lost very quickly, unfortunately.

There are some messages that are not good for Spain. To say, as some do, that if they come to power - though they will not, at least in the near future - that all the structural reforms that have been implemented will be dismantled, is a very bad message to send out. To say that they are going to repeal a labour reform, the Education Act and the energy reform is foolish. The only thing it does is generate doubts. You don't construct anything by changing everything. It's crazy.

Some of the things we are beginning to see in these new local councils where there have been all kind of political agreements, as you well know, are crazy. Careful with the eco-taxes, with the tourism tax, with tax increases! Careful with decisions that generate uncertainty and legal insecurity! You can't establish a one-year moratorium on the creation of new tourist beds in the major cities of Spain; you can't, because it generates doubts, it generates a great deal of mistrust and because there are many foreign investors who are concerned with these kinds of things.

So one thing is to govern, which is not easy, it means taking decisions, and at times it means not taking them and trying to get by. And another thing is to talk. At the end of the day, if there is an auction or competition on foolish ideas, it doesn't bother me. I of course will not go into it. But it is important not to play around with the basic pillars on which the Spanish economy is based today, because this doesn't send a message that is positive for Spanish people as a whole. So that is my second concern.

My third concern is Greece, although now I am less concerned. But, ladies and gentlemen, how many lessons can you extract from what we have seen? There should be no trickery, no attempt to promise what you know for sure... Because, at times, politicians find themselves confronting changed events, but when you know for sure that you can't do it, don't do it. It is worth being clear about whom you should reach agreements with and with whom you shouldn't, and it is worth being on the side of moderation, good judgement and common sense.

Greece does not have anyone to borrow from. We were at the point of being in a similar situation. Now it seems that no one remembers, but that's how it was. Greece today can only borrow from the Member States of the European Union. It has had debt relief from its creditors of 50% in some loans from the International Monetary Fund, which we will try to ensure stays in the mix; but Greece borrows from the Member States of the European Union. The Member States of the European Union have lent Greece more than its gross domestic product. It's as if they had lent Spain more than 1 trillion euros; our gross domestic product is a little more than that. Greece is not paying interest on the loans for 10 years, and the principal for 30. Put yourselves in its position, I'm sure you would do very well.

We are going to continue to help Greece. Now it needs 86 billion euros. I will take the matter to Parliament, you can be sure of that. It's the first time this has been done. I am not going to take this decision alone. You can be sure I will vote in favour; I also believe that you can argue and defend this position very well, because I believe it is very positive that the Euro should be seen as it is; something irreversible and a currency with which we will live the rest of our days.

But there is one thing that is very important; when you are in a club, you have rights, of course you have rights; but there are also duties and obligations, because the members here also no doubt have duties and obligations, as well as rights. It would be good if we could all be capable of transmitting this culture. There is much talk of rights, and it is true and it is good and positive; but it is also worth talking about duties and obligations, and in any facet of life, and I'm not only talking about government or politics; in any facet of life.

Greece had a growth forecast when I was there, and I was there in January this year, of 3%; now it has a negative growth forecast of between 2% and 4%. The brilliant ideas of some have cut five or six points off growth in a country in less than half a year. Greece was creating jobs; it was creating them but now the forecast is for jobs to be shed.

So prudence, good judgment and common sense are things that one should not forget in any facet of life, and certainly not in this one.

Having said that, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to tell you that I am optimistic about the future of Spain; I am an optimist. We have been through a very difficult period, but I think, and I really do think this, that we are on the right path. I know that there is a great deal left to do and there are a great many people who have not reaped the benefits of the recovery; but the existence of many people to whom the recovery has arrived is the horizon for these people to whom the recovery has not yet reached. Now, what can't be done is to take the wrong path. I repeat; we all have to act with the greatest sense of responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen

I am approaching the end. We are in Andalusia, in the capital of Andalusia, in Seville. I won't go into how the Regional Government of Andalusia can help strengthen the recovery and create more jobs, because that isn't my responsibility. I believe that more could be done, but it isn't my responsibility, it's up to Juan Manuel Moreno, and above all, the Regional Government of Andalusia and its Parliament. But I do believe I can say a few things:

I would like to tell you that Andalusia is one of the main points of concern for my government, because that is how it has to be. There is no place in Spain where more Spanish people live than in Andalusia, over eight million. That is why Andalusia is very important and has a great weight in the nation as a whole.

I believe I know this land well; not like you, of course, but I believe I know Seville - I've been here many times - and the rest of the large cities and provincial capitals of Andalusia. I have also visited many towns in the interior and on the coast, and I have done so for many years. I think I can therefore say that Andalusia, like the rest of Spain, has improved. Of course, look, over the last 40 years Spain has had the fifth biggest increase in the world in terms of per capita income. We should remind those who like to talk badly of Spain about that. One of the five, in the last 40 years. Spain has improved and you, with your entrepreneurial effort, have taken an active lead in this improvement.

Having said that, I believe that we all should and could improve more, Andalusia too, Andalusia above all, on this issue of employment. Before I said that unemployment is falling in Spain at a rate of 7.4% per year and here it is 2.1%. I believe more could be done.

What I do say is that Andalusia, let no one doubt it, has counted with and will continue to count on the support of the Government of Spain, independently of any speeches, considerations, comments and other things that are said. It will continue to count on it. We have supported it when things were most difficult and I believe that is a reason for satisfaction and pride. We have supported the regional government when no one did so and we have done so with full institutional loyalty.

The regional government, as is the case in some other regions in Spain, could not access the market and it has been the State - that is what it is for - which has had to cover the public deficit and the debt maturities, and thus the funding of many of the public services. Now, as I have said, this finance costs zero interest.

We have made major investments in infrastructure throughout this term in office and if the Spanish people want, we will continue to do so in the future. We have supported key sectors, such as agriculture and fisheries - consider the CAP - and the naval sector and aeronautics, which Francisco Herrero has cited in his speech, so important here in Seville. We have been able to do so in the worst of times and I can tell you now that this support will continue to be equally committed and we will try to make it more efficient now that things are beginning to improve.

And now I must close. Spain today has before it a promising future for the first time in a long time. But no future is written in stone and only with our responsibility and our effort can we arrive where we hope to arrive and convert this future into a real success story. We have room, and we have seen it in barely a year, for our achievements of today to appear limited and to continue to exceed many expectations. But if this is to be the case, ladies and gentlemen, and I say it as I see it, we can't allow ourselves to listen to the sirens' song; we can't submit to the temptation of returning to the politics of the past - we have already learned our lesson there the hard way; and we can't give in - I won't at any rate - to those who with their radicalism and complicity put into question what is the best guarantee of our success, which is concord and unity between Spanish people, and the path of progress which can be summed up in a constitutional Spain; the best Spain, in fact, that there has ever been in history.

And if we ask what we need to be better, to grow more, to create more jobs, to generate more welfare and once more to be one of the greatest, the answer is clear: we need to continue with the reforms, we need to continue with a responsible policy, we need to continue with stability, which has been the basis of our achievements; and also with the pride of knowing that we are living in one of the great countries and in one of the most advanced democracies on the planet, despite some things you might hear, and that this country, which is ours, is called Spain.

Thank you very much.