Press conference by President of the Government following meeting of Council of Ministers approving Royal Decree to dissolve Parliament and call general elections

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

President of the Government.- Ladies and gentlemen, a very good day to you.

I appear here before you to inform you that, after notifying His Majesty the King at Zarzuela Palace this morning, the Council of Ministers has just approved a Royal Decree calling general elections, as established in Article 115 of the Spanish Constitution. The Royal Decree calling general elections for 20 December will be published tomorrow in the Official State Gazette.

I would like to point out that the Council of Ministers also studied an extraordinary report on the damage caused by the torrential rainfall in the Canary Islands for its assessment and to adopt measures in the coming days. I have also been in touch with the President of the Regional Government of the Canary Islands this weekend, and with the Minister for Industry, who was in the islands, and I have given instructions to the Vice-President of the Government and to the Ministers for the Treasury, for Home Affairs, for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, and for Public Works so that, as soon as possible, they can take the appropriate decisions following the damage caused by the torrential rainfall I referred to a moment ago.

Before taking stock of this term of office, I would like to recall the three Spanish servicemen (José Morales Rodríguez, Saúl López Quesada and Jhonander Ojeda Alemán) who have been missing since Thursday. I wish to pass on my support to their families at this time of great uncertainty.

The Minister for Defence, who has been on the island of Gran Canaria these last few days, is in permanent contact with the families; but I would like to take this opportunity to convey my support and empathy. Rest assured that the government and the armed forces will not rest for one moment until they are found.

I also want to thank the members of the Spanish Air Force and the Spanish Navy, the resources of SASEMAR and the Government of Morocco for their involvement in the search and rescue operations for our servicemen. As I said, we will employ all the resources available in our search for them.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Through the publication tomorrow of the Royal Decree calling elections, as I just mentioned, we can say that this concludes one of the most intense terms of office of our democracy, during which, I can proudly state that our country has shown its energy and enormous capacity to overcome a very complicated situation in record time.

When I asked for the support of the Lower House for my programme of government close on four years ago, I clearly pointed out what the priorities would be when it came to my management of issues. I announced back then that I would devote - what I am going to say is textual, it is what I said at the Investiture Debate - "all this government's capacity and the powers of the nation to stem the shedding of jobs, stimulate growth and speed up job creation". I also asserted that it was necessary to break out of a vicious circle made up of "a lack of confidence, a lack of finance, a fall in investment and consumption, the shedding of jobs and the freefall of public revenue" as quickly as possible.

Spain, indeed, found itself back at that time in a spiralling freefall that was going to condemn it, unless a solution could be found, to bankruptcy, its exit from the Euro or a bailout. It was necessary, and it was urgent, to stop that freefall and change course. The first goal was achieved in 2012 and the second, changing course, in 2013. The other two years of this term of office, 2014 and 2015, have served to take steps towards a growing rate in the other three goals: employment, growth and confidence.

We have gone from living under the threat of a bailout to stimulating confidence, from the longest recession to the highest rate of growth in the EU, and from the greatest job losses to the largest reduction in unemployment ever.

Employment, growth and confidence. These are the keys that go to highlight the success of the efforts made by the Spanish people over the course of these last few years. These are the keys to the change Spain has experienced during this term of office.

The figures of the Labour Force Survey, announced last week, allow us to forecast that this year, 2015, will be the year of the greatest fall in unemployment in the history of Spain and justify the labour reform approved at the start of this legislature which has meant that dismissals are not the first instrument available to companies to adapt to the economic situation.

And the third quarter of 2015 has hit record figures for falling unemployment, which have seen 298,200 fewer people out of work in the quarter, and 576,900 in the year to date. We are talking about an annual fall in unemployment of more than 10%; specifically of 10.6%. Never before has unemployment fallen by so much in a year. These figures mean that there are now 436,000 fewer people unemployed than at the start of this legislature, and that we have recovered the figure of 18 million Spaniards in work. These improvements are also reaching the most vulnerable households, those that had all of their members out of work. These are now fewer each day; specifically 216,000 fewer in the last year.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is the clearest indicator of the change in course over the last few years. In annual terms, we have gone from shedding 1,430 jobs each day in 2011 to creating 1,492 jobs each day in 2015.

This is what justifies not only the policies and reforms that have been adopted on labour issues, but also the reforms we have undertaken in other areas. Obviously, this task has not yet been completed, but we are in an excellent position to reach the summit in the next term of office. The fight against unemployment will remain our priority for the years to come.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In this term of office, Spain has undergone a volte-face: we have gone from recession to the fastest rate of growth of the major economies in the Eurozone. This has been substantiated by all observers and experts, give or take a decimal point. You are aware that the government's forecast for this year is of 3.3%. The International Monetary Fund has also certified this recovery in economic activity and in 2015, we head up, together with the United States, growth among the group of developed countries that are members of the G-20.

I would like to highlight that, in contrast to other occasions, this growth is taking place in a balanced, and hence sustainable, manner. We are not growing through indebtedness, like on other occasions, but rather because we are more competitive and we export more overseas. Spain now exports more, in relation to its GDP, than the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and France. We have gone, in just a few short years, to exporting less than one quarter of our GDP to exporting one third of it. This competitiveness has been gained without devaluing our currency, which is one of the major transformations Spain has experienced in this term of office.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Spain is now a country that inspires confidence, both at home and beyond our borders:

• Confidence because we have managed to reduce the public deficit from the start of this legislature by half: from 9% to 4.2% by the end of this year.
• Confidence as shown by the risk premium, which has plummeted compared with the level it stood at when the last elections were held. At present it stands at 110. No-one is talking about the risk premium in our country any longer. This change has enabled the State to save more than 20 billion euros in servicing debt, which equates to the increase, for example, in spending on pensions during this term of office, or in what we are going to spend next year on unemployment benefits. This is a figure of tremendous importance
• Confidence in our financial system, which we have managed to clean up fully, which is allowing us to recover the credit that is so necessary for our households and companies. New credit to SMEs has now enjoyed 23 straight months of growth and in the year to date it has increased at a rate of 14%, and new credit to households has now enjoyed 12 straight months of growth, and in the year to date has increased at a rate of 27%. This is undoubtedly a very important factor, as it will not have escaped any of you, for the economy of our country.
• Confidence also in our system of well-being, which has managed to ward off the threat of bankruptcy; a threat that was very real when public revenue plummeted in our country by 70 billion euros, which is easy to say but which happened at the harshest point of the crisis.

Well, Spain can today feel proud at having overcome the worst crisis we have ever known without anyone being left on the sidelines. We have not sacrificed pensions, we have not suspended unemployment benefits and we have not allowed payment defaults to strangle the healthcare system.

Almost 9.5 million Spanish pensioners have received their pensions on time, which have been neither frozen nor reduced in any way, despite the difficulties we have gone through. Since we came to power, the expense of pensions in Spain has grown by 19.44 billion euros and the average pension now exceeds 1,000 euros.

Those people out of work have also received their unemployment benefits on time, and, among other things, the 75-billion euro debt that the public authorities had with their suppliers, which is easy to say, has been regularised; the majority of these being suppliers of essential public services such as healthcare.

All of this also contributes towards providing confidence, particularly the confidence of Spaniards in their own country, in its own collective welfare system. This can be clearly seen in the latest Consumer Confidence Index, which has set a new all-time record: 106 points compared with 68 in the final quarter of 2011.

I have just summarised the key elements behind this: growth, employment and confidence, which are undoubtedly decisive when evaluating the work of the government, which has been extremely intense during this term of office. This is the most noteworthy aspect when taking stock of this legislature, but I believe it is only fair to remember certain other things.

Despite the tremendous budgetary difficulties we had at the start of this term of office, we have been able to lower Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax. The average reduction in the period 2014-2016 will be by 14.6%, and the main beneficiaries are those citizens on medium to low incomes and families with the greatest burdens, who receive tax support handouts.

We have approved a generalised reduction in withholdings for all those on a salary and the self-employed, which represents a direct injection of liquidity into the real economy. Companies have also seen their tax rates lowered and furthermore, have additional incentives such as the capitalisation reserve and the reserve cap.

This has all been accompanied by an enormous effort in the fight against fraud, which has allowed us to recover more than 41 billion euros to June, and possibly exceed 48 billion euros during the whole term of office; amounts that derive from uncovering 120 billion euros in tax bases, among other things, the majority of which was outside of Spain.

We have adjusted the size and increased the efficiency of our public authorities, and we will have to continue with this task, which is key, in the years to come. 2,300 public bodies have been eliminated and accumulated savings of more than 30 billion euros have been made. E-invoicing, centralised procurement, the single employment portal and, finally, as you are aware, the direct registration of new-borns directly from the hospital, have all been implemented over the years.

The price of energy had experienced such a dramatic increase during the time of the Socialist governments that it had become a barrier to the competitiveness of our economy and a factor of the impoverishment of our most needy families. This situation has been reverted. During this term of office, the electricity system has stabilised and there is no longer a tariff deficit which, as you are aware, was astronomical - some 26 billion euros - and prices have now started to fall.

I also want to highlight the Law to Improve the Quality of Education, which is now in force and which seeks to obtain a better return from students, and a more efficient use of taxpayers' money for education. And the results are starting to come through: the school drop-out rate has fallen from 21%, which is 4.4 points lower than at the start of this legislature. The number of students that take Vocational Training has increased by 180,000; 20,000 through the new system of Dual Vocational Training implemented during this term of office. And I would also remind you that in the latest Budget we have allocated 1.42 billion euros for grants, an all-time record figure.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would talk to you about other laws of great importance to stimulate Spanish entrepreneurs, such as the Second Chance Act, the Market Unity Act, the flat-rate for the self-employed, the Law to Support Entrepreneurs and the Law to Support Business Finance; but I don't wish to tire you, much less bore you. As a result of all this, new records are being set in the number of companies created - more than 72,000 in 2014 - and we have gained more than 10 points in competitiveness compared with our partners in the Eurozone and other developed countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When it comes to taking stock of this term of office, I cannot avoid mentioning the serious problems we have had to face since coming to power while trying to balance the accounts and push through economic growth and the modernisation of the country.

The most serious problem was undoubtedly the secessionist challenge from the Regional Government of Catalonia; a challenge to the democratic legality that has splintered Catalan society and has no other basis than disloyalty from the Regional Government of Catalonia towards the 1978 Spanish Constitution, which is what has offered the highest level of self-governance for Catalonia in its history.

I have never refused to enter into dialogue, or to negotiate or to listen to the proposals from Mr Mas. I simply never did that. Whenever he has called me or has sought to see me I have been ready and willing. Mind you, I have never deceived him regarding the limits of this dialogue. I cannot talk about or negotiate something that does not belong to me, or to anyone else. And national sovereignty, the rights of the Spanish people and their equality are not powers that belong to the President of the Government, or even to Parliament; they are the exclusive competence of the Spanish people and only the Spanish people as a whole can decide on this.

Hence, I have complied, at all times, with my obligation: to defend the law, protect the rights of the Spanish people and do so with prudence and proportionality. And I will continue to do this while I am President of the Government: dialogue always; respect for the law and for institutions the same.

That has been my approach with the Regional Government of Catalonia during this legislature and it will be the same in the next, whatever its composition may be and whoever the Regional President may be.

The second challenge we have had to face is corruption. Too many corruption scandals have been uncovered in the last few years. I am fully aware of the damage and the mistrust that these episodes have caused the perception of politics among our citizens, and consequently, to the trust between those in power and our citizens.

However, I feel I should say that our law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors and courts have never before acted with so much independence and liberty. I should also say that never before in Spain has such a raft of comparable legal reforms been approved to prevent corruption and punish it harshly; the last one, just last Friday: the creation of the Office to Recover the Proceeds from Criminal Activities.

In other words, the foundations have been laid in this term of office for this social demand for those who steal to return what they have stolen to become a reality.

And I also want to mention, in another scheme of things - much more edifying, of course - European policy, because the European Union has gone through its own crisis during this term of office in which the very survival of the Euro was brought into question.

I have devoted a not inconsiderable part of my work over these last few years to Europe, firstly, to defending the viability of the Euro and of Spain as a part of it; and also to extend the role of the single currency as a source of well-being and growth. I have made very specific proposals to make progress on Banking Union, which has been set in motion over this period, and we are now working to make progress on Fiscal, Economic and Political Union, to which end my government has made proposals for the future on the so-called '5 Presidents' Document'.

We have fought hard during the negotiations of the EU Budget, with a more than satisfactory result: Spain will receive more than 37 billion euros by 2020 in structural funds. More than half of these resources will be directly managed by the regional governments.

We have also negotiated well on the Common Agricultural Policy, in which regard we have negotiated the allocation of 47 billion euros for the Spanish countryside in the next few years.

Furthermore, we have made an enormous effort to reactivate the creation of energy interconnections from the Iberian Peninsula to the rest of Europe. This question, as you are aware, is vital for the Spanish economy, which, thanks to our insistence and thanks to good relations with our neighbours and with the Commission, now forms part of the priorities for the European institutions over the coming years.

Now, as you know, we are actively participating in the whole management of the refugee crisis, which has turned into a highly dramatic issue that we must resolve in the short, medium and, I fear, the long term. As you know, Spain has offered its experience in border management and advocates a comprehensive solution involving acting on the causes behind this mass exodus of people. We will continue to work in the same direction and actively take part in the solution designed to offer a way out to the unbearable situation being suffered by the refugees that calls for great sensitivity and awareness from all people and all the governments on this continent.

I will draw to a close now. I believe that the figures that I have picked out for you show that this has been a legislation that has transformed the country. A legislature of intense and profound change.

These reforms, many of which have been unpopular, have been made in an ordered manner with determination thanks to political stability. It is unquestionable that this stability, as a result of sound parliamentary support, has been a decisive element in recovering confidence in Spain.

I also wish to recall that we have always been willing to enter into dialogue with the opposition groups and with social stakeholders. At a political level, I wish to highlight, by way of example, the Pact against Jihadi Terrorism and the National Security Act; on social issues, I would remind you of the Agreement on Proposals for Tripartite Negotiations and, more recently, the Activation Programme for the Long-term Unemployed.

We have also spoken a great deal with the different public authorities. As you know, we were forced to create liquidity instruments that allowed them to pay off their debts, avoid bankruptcy and not interrupt the services they offer their citizens. This collaboration is ongoing through the Regional Liquidity Fund, which allows them to be financed at a zero interest rate, whereas, when we came to power, some were being financed at 7.75%. Over the course of this legislature, this type of instrument has amounted to an extraordinary total: 185 billion euros, of which more than 75 billion euros were allocated to paying outstanding debts to suppliers.

Moreover, this collaboration has had another positive consequence; late payments to suppliers, which has fallen from 142 days in 2012 to 49 days by August this year, representing a reduction of 65%.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I could go on much more, but I believe that it would not be fair on you, or useful in taking stock of what has been this term of office. I believe that, moreover, you have a document summarising the progress of many indicators.

I wish to reiterate, once again, my thanks to all the people of Spain for their extraordinary conduct during these tough years. It is at the toughest times that people and nations show their mettle and fortitude, and I believe that the Spanish nation has once again shown signs of its extraordinary potential and desire to overcome.

The people of Spain have shown the world, but above all we have shown ourselves, our composure, our responsibility and also a profound sense of solidarity. For me it has made me proud and it has been an honour to head up the government of this great country.

I wish to also express my recognition of the Crown, of King Felipe IV and of his father, King Juan Carlos. I have always received their support, receptiveness and constant dedication to the service of Spain. They have not been alien to the recovery of our image and have helped boost our interests overseas. Furthermore, the way in which the change in the Head of State took place during this term of office is yet another example of what Spain is today: a modern, stable country with fully consolidated institutions that work.

There is undoubtedly much more to do. We still have many problems and there are still many problems in job creation. We must recover all the wealth and well-being that was lost during the crisis. There are challenges for the future that require all our energies, but over these few years we have shown a sound collective will to effectively tackle difficulties, overcome them and straighten out our course. If we find a way to do this firmly, Spain will be in a position to enjoy a long period of growth and well-being never before seen. It is my desire to see us harness this opportunity.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will now take questions.

Q.- President of the Government, this summer there was a debate on the reform of the Constitution that you yourself said you were prepared to tackle and yet, this was drawn to a close and it was announced that this would not be contained in the People's Party's manifesto. My question is whether you are prepared to at least explore the opportunities for a constitutional reform in the next term of office.

President of the Government.- A reform of the Constitution will not be contained in our election manifesto, but you can be totally and utterly sure that I will be, as I have always been, open to listening to proposals from others.

I believe that Spain's priority at this time is not to reform the Constitution. It is not something that the Spanish people as a whole are calling for. Spain's priority is not to get distracted and not to forget that we must still create two million jobs in the next term of office to a total of 20 million people in work in our country. I repeat, half a million people a year must find a job in the next four years, and hence, we must continue to make structural reforms and we must persevere with the policies that have been carried out over these years.

Aside from that, there are certain things in the Constitution which can undoubtedly be reformed, such as the succession to the throne or how to state that we are members of the European Union, the names of the autonomous regions, etc. But, at this time, I cannot see, after listening to the different political forces, that there is any consensus on the fundamental issue which, let's not kid ourselves, what is being proposed in the reform of the Constitution is a change in our territorial model.

I have not heard, and I believe I am not the only one, any proposal that will serve to resolve the problems we have at this time. Hence, I will pay close attention to what others propose, but at this time this is not a priority for the People's Party.

Q.- President of the Government, I am going to ask you a quick question. If, following the upcoming general elections, your party is not the most voted for party or there are another two parties that manage to ensure you do not form a government, what will you do? Will you resign as General Secretary of the PP? Will you give up your seat in Parliament? Explain to us a little what may happen in the future.

President of the Government.- For the time being, I have one priority which you can easily understand: I will do whatever is in my hands to be able to continue governing, among other reasons, but first and foremost, because it is what is best for Spain. Because it would be very sad now, very tough and would have been a great waste of time if we now put a stop to what the People's Party has done in power over these last almost four years.

We have laid the foundations for the future, and now, after the first two years, which were very tough, 2012 above all, and 2013, we are growing, we are now creating jobs and things can be seen from a different perspective. Consumption has increased, investment has increased, we are beating records in tourism and Spain is a country in which confidence has been recovered - I gave you some figures on this earlier. So, that is what I am going to devote myself to.

Trying to foresee what might happen in the future, in the event that one or other circumstance arises, is something that, as you will appreciate, makes very little sense at this time.

Q.- President of the Government, having taken stock, I would like you to highlight, in your opinion, what you consider to be the greatest success and the greatest failure of your mandate, and what you thus feel you should apologise to the Spanish people for. Success and failure.

Then, I would like to know whether you continue to believe that you are the best candidate for the People's Party to win the general elections.

President of the Government.- If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be standing.

As regards your first question, it is very difficult to say what is one's greatest mistake and success; but if I had to say something, I have had to face some very tough times during the course of this legislature and I have had some other times - I must say very few times, but I had them - in which I have truly felt uplifted.

For me, I believe that avoiding a bailout was the right thing to do. I sincerely believe that we did the right thing. If not, we could now be, as has happened to certain other countries in the European Union, forced, for example, to lower pensions by 10% or to raise VAT on restaurants to 23%. That was very tough. Now everyone is silent on the matter, but that was very tough. No-one is going to say anything now.

It was a very good moment when I was told that, for the first time, Spain was enjoying growth. We were barely growing, by 0.1%, but this happened in the third quarter of 2013, and listen, after what we had gone through at the beginning… And there was another very positive fact, which took place in October 2013: for the first time, there was a turnaround in unemployment, the unemployment queues at the INEM offices. It had been rising for many years. It rose during the whole of 2012, when we were in power and then in the whole of 2013 until this change in October. And then, in February 2014, the Social Security figures changed as well. Each month we had been losing contributors and from that point on it changed.

So, in all reality, when you look now at the last two years, at 2014 and 2015, which has not yet finished, almost 1 million jobs have been created, I am very pleased and I believe that this should not be wasted now. And we know that there are many people who have still been unable to find a job, but I would say to all these people who still haven't found a job: you are right but just look and realise that there are now one million Spaniards who have found a job, and you may be the next in line if we persevere with these policies.

What was the biggest mistake? Obviously, I don't know if it makes much sense for me to criticise myself. But I will say one thing: I have had to take many decisions that I didn't want to take at all but, in all sincerity, I took them because I believe that I didn't have any choice. As you can appreciate, for me to decide in July 2012 that our public servants were going to have to go without their Christmas bonus was not something that I did with any gusto. But I believe it is what we had to do.

The same is true of other decisions. We had to raise certain taxes. I did not stand in the elections to arrive at the first Council of Ministers, which took place on 30 December, to have to raise Personal Income Tax. That was not among my goals; rather, quite the opposite. But now, in 2015, we have managed, and we have also advanced the part for 2016, to place ourselves in a slightly better position than when we came to power.

So, this is a term of office in which it is clear that the government has had to take some tough decisions, which were not fun at all. What is fun is being able to spend money and get on well with everyone, but we had lost 70 billion euros here in revenue. Of course, how are we not going to have to take budgetary decisions if, over the course of two years, we had lost 70 billion euros in revenue?

Now, fortunately, as there is more economic activity, and we had to pay tribute to the SMEs in this country, this is starting to grow and revenue is starting to grow. So, we no longer have to do what we had to do in the years 2012 and 2013.

In short, that is, more or less, how I see things.

Q.- President of the Government, since everything would seem to point to the fact that after the elections there will not be a sufficient majority to govern alone, I wanted to ask how you see the issue of pacts. Do you believe it will be possible to reach an understanding with the party Ciudadanos, on a similar basis to what took place in the Region of Madrid, for example? Do you see any other type of pact as feasible with other formations? How do you see the future?

President of the Government.- What I can see is that the People's Party will try to deserve the trust of the Spanish people and what I can also see is that all the others will try to do the same.

Quite frankly, there are certain precedents that I don't like. I am in favour of the party with the most votes always governing and there are other precedents that I don't like. I don't like what we have seen in Spain in city councils such as Madrid, Zaragoza and Valencia; and what we have seen with other councils, perhaps smaller ones, but also important councils, where everyone has got together to gang up against the People's Party. Neither do I like what I have seen in Portugal at this time, and I believe that this may be a major step backwards after what Portugal has suffered in recent years..

Hence, my position is the same as always. I believe that the party with the broadest support from its citizens should govern and that people should reflect on what to do with their vote because perhaps they will put it to a different use to that for which certain political forces were voted in.

This issue of pacts will be talked about in due course, depending on the result the Spanish people choose in the elections.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to ask you if there is something that you really want to do but have been unable to do because of a lack of time or because you have been engaged in other things.

President of the Government.- Yes; quite frankly there are many more things that I would truly have liked to have done, and believe me when I say that I have devoted a great many hours over these last few years to my work as President of the Government.

Firstly, I would have liked to have created many more jobs in our country. I would have liked this because, moreover, I believe that this can be done. The fact is that, of course, it was impossible to do this back when we could not receive funding, our task at hand every day was to avoid a bailout, to avoid our exit from the Euro; there was little revenue coming in and no economic activity or growth… That is why I say that the first two years for us, no not for us but for Spain, were very negative. But, of course, from January 2014 to date we now have more than one million additional contributors to our Social Security system. I would have liked this figure to have been much higher and that is why I believe the task remaining is a large one and, as I said earlier, we must reach the figure of 20 million Spaniards in work.

Now I am absolutely convinced that this can be done, for one reason: quite simply by creating, just look, a few less jobs than this year in each of the next years. This year we will almost reach the figure of 600,000 jobs, and with only 500,000 in 2016, in 2017, in 2018 and in 2019 we will reach the figure of 20 million. I would have liked to have achieved that.

There are some things that are still pending for the next term of office. We need to continue making progress. We have done a lot to reform our public administration. You are aware that the reform of the public administration is not the most attractive project or the easiest to explain, but substantial progress has been made. I believe that market unity is a key element for the competitiveness of our economy. We must make an effort in the next term of office on two issues: R&D+i, where we must make a major effort, and also a major effort on the Digital Agenda. That is where a good part of our future competitiveness lies, and hence, our well-being and our wealth.

We must also talk about regional financing, which is another of the issues widely spoken about; but, of course, you cannot present a regional financing model without money, which is the situation we have gone through in this term of office. Financing is important, although, just look at how things are, it is more important that the economy works than the model of financing, because this year the regional governments, down to the mere fact that the economy is growing, are going to receive almost 10 billion euros more than last year. It is for that reason, and because they are going to pay nothing to the government for service debt. The other day I was in the Region of Valencia, which will receive considerably more than 1 billion euros; I think that some 1.5 billion euros more than this year. And the same is true of Andalusia and other regions. At any event, that is another of the things that we must do.

It is very important - I always say this and I have been saying this for some time now - to offer a solution, which does not only fall to us, but also to the rest of Europe, on the issue of immigration and asylum. This is an issue for the future. That is, we cannot have a continent, some countries with borders with Spain, where people have enormous difficulties in eking out a dignified life. While this is the case, we will have problems and the European Union must understand that the solution to the issue of immigration on economic grounds needs major investment and cooperation; we need aid for these countries and to try to help raise their standard of living. I believe that this can be done. Problems are not going to be resolved overnight, but I do believe that we can take steps in the right direction, above all to fight poverty and defend human rights in these countries.

The European agenda has many pending issues. Electricity interconnections are key. We are making progress, but it is hard, small steps are being taken. And the European Digital Agenda… In short, there are many things to do and life is like that: you either improve or, at least, you try to.

Q.- Mr President of the Government, so far you have taken stock of this term of office - almost as if you were the chief executive - of the main economic issues. Let's speak about other things, and I would ask you, how would you convince a Catholic to vote for the People's Party in the upcoming elections, for example?

Then a question that it seems to me was not clarified in an earlier question from one of my colleagues. I will put it another way: if the PP needs Cuidadanos to govern and the price is your head, would you offer your head?

President of the Government.- I intend to remain alive for a long time yet and for you to see that. My head is well placed and I don't intend to allow anyone to change its position.

I have indeed taken stock of the economic issues. Sometime people say, "You only talk about the economy". But, let's see, what is the economy? The economy means pensions, the economy means healthcare, the economy means education, the economy means social services, the economy means jobs… The economy is life itself and the concerns of our citizens. That is the economy.

When you see the Spanish people being asked about what most concerns them, you will normally see that the first thing is unemployment, and secondly, economic problems, which makes sense. That is what concerns any mother or father, and that is what concerns the vast majority of our citizens. There are undoubtedly many other important issues.

Me, to the Catholics… I am a Catholic, but I am not going to ask any Catholic to vote for me because I am Catholic. Of course, Spain is a nation where there is religious liberty - I, of course, am Catholic - and where relations with the Catholic Church, for historical reasons, because the majority of us are Catholics, are priority relations. Relations are good, on some occasions we are in agreement and on others we are not. They defend certain positions, on which we, as Catholics, tend to agree; and on other occasions we don't agree. But, of course, what I am not going to do is attack any religion, much less the Catholic faith, as it would seem that some wish to do.

Q.- President of the Government, we know that in your election manifesto the People's Party is not going to reform the Constitution, but the Socialist Party will, it has already announced that. I wanted to thus know whether there will be any proposal in your manifesto to tackle the second problem you mentioned, after the economy, or the second chapter, on the territorial process in Catalonia. Will the People's Party offer anything specific, in respect of these elections, to resolve the conflict?

And another very quick issue, will two, or three, or four of you debate…? Are you prepared to hold debates with Mr Rivera, with Mr Sánchez and with Mr Iglesias?

President of the Government.- I am willing to talk. I said that in my initial speech, and I have reiterated this time and time again. Moreover, it is not just that I am prepared to talk, that is my obligation; but, even if it were not my obligation, I would be prepared to talk. Now, what I cannot talk about, as I said in my speech, is about something that is not in my hands. I cannot authorise a referendum that seeks to take away national sovereignty, because whatever Spain is cannot be decided by some people from one part of Spain; this must be decided by the people of Spain as a whole.

So, I am willing to talk about anything else. I am willing to be constructive. We are going to talk about the model of regional financing; but that means all of us talking, because we are all entitled to talk. What you cannot have is some talking but not others.

Hence, my position is to talk about anything with whoever wants to do so, except that which I cannot talk about. I, of course, cannot accept one thing, which is that some intend to do away with the law. The law is something that is closely and inextricably tied in to civilisation, to democracy. It is the system that governs our coexistence and those who govern or who are engaged in political activity cannot, because we must assuredly give a good example, say that we are prepared to do away with the law or distinguish the law from politics. No, just look, the laws are made by politicians, those elected by our people and they take them to Parliament. And the first people who are obliged to respect the law are those who have made them.

Hence, aside from that, I, as I have always said, as I pointed out earlier, have never refused to talk and I will never refuse to talk with anyone, but what is clear is that you can ask me whatever you want, but not for me to do away with the law. Don't ask me that because I am never going to do that.

Debates. I am the Spanish politician, and this is an objective fact, who has taken part in more debates…, these debates by candidates to President of the Government. I am the one who has had the most. In other words, that is my natural environment and, aside from that, we will be wherever we need to be. But it is important for order to reign. I have been the campaign director and things need to be well structured because, of course, this issue of messages over here, over there, etc. At any event, here we have the People's Party campaign director and, as everyone knows, I respond to his orders unconditionally, or not so much.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to ask you, returning to the issue that my colleague asked you about, about post-election pacts; specifically, if you fear what the polls are showing: the Ciudadanos effect, the most emerging political formation, or the emerging formation, that we could perhaps say, has sprung up the most in recent months. And, if this premise comes true, which you have set, to respect the most voted for list, would you be prepared to accept a three-party government, as the leader of Cuidadanos, Albert Rivera, has let slip?

President of the Government.- All elections are different and in this term of office there has been, as you know, certain volatility. Less than a year has elapsed since the European elections at which, just look, Izquierda Unida [United Left] came third and UPyD came fourth. Just a year ago. There are political forces that just a few months ago said they were first but that just now are not.

What we must leave to our citizens is that they study well what they believe is the best thing for their country and that they decide, rather than spend all day debating whether three, or four, or two of us are going to govern… I have been President of the Government during the whole of this term of office and I intend to continue governing. I have taken stock, and I will continue to do so, of what we have tried to do during the course of this term of office and I am obviously going to propose a programme for governing for the next four years.

I don't like talking now about something such as how to govern. So, whoever is chosen by our citizens will govern. That is my offer: if I am not the leading political force, I will not try to be President of the Government, because I will respect what our citizens say.

Q.- Tomorrow Parliament will be dissolved and today the Regional Parliament of Catalonia will be constituted with a pro-independence majority, do you have any mechanisms planned to deal with what could take place in light of a possible unilateral declaration of independence in the coming weeks?

President of the Government.- Yes, I have them planned because that is my obligation as President of the Government. But, at any event, I hope that we don't have to take any decision of this nature that you are thinking about because common sense and reason will end up reigning.

Not long ago, the United Nations, this very week in fact, with 193 votes in favour, none against, proclaimed its position on the territorial integrity of States. That is the way the world is heading and I hope that everyone ends up understanding that.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to return to Catalonia and I wanted to ask you why, following the results on 27 September, we have also seen the plot from 3% in recent weeks. I wanted to know whether, in your opinion, Artur Mas is disqualified from becoming Regional President.

Secondly, I wanted to come back to Ciudadanos. The former President of the Government, José María Aznar, has spoken in recent weeks time and again and has asked your party to react in response to a probable crack in the centre-right. I wanted to know whether you are also concerned by this rise of Ciudadanos and whether you share the same vision as the former President of the Government.

President of the Government.- The first issue falls to the Regional Parliament of Catalonia to decide on.

And on the second issue, I respect the opinions of everyone. What concerns me at this time is being capable of telling the Spanish people that the best thing for the future of Spain and the right thing is for the People's Party to once again govern for the next four years.

Q.- Delving further into the issue, President of the Government, I believe that you yourself have seen that many of the questions once again insist on the issue of pacts. Don't you now think that it is symptomatic in itself that there is so much insistence on the issue of pacts? Moreover, you refuse to mention the leader of Ciudadanos, which is the emerging party and the one with which you will have the greatest possibilities of entering into a pact with. Is there any reason for that? Is it related to the position held by the leader of Ciudadanos, who has said that he would virtually demand, as one of our colleagues said earlier, your head in order to enter into negotiations with a future People's Party government?

Then, there is an issue that I know greatly concerns you. Looking towards the next few days, we can already see nerves in the ranks of the People's Party regarding the issue of the lists. Do you have a criterion regarding what type of lists you would like to back you in the Lower House of Parliament for the next term of office? Because there are many regional presidents, for example from the PP, that are demanding a far-reaching renewal in order to compete with Ciudadanos.

President of the Government.- The party lists? My criterion is that the best people should stand. That seems the best criteria to me, as in so many other walks of life.

As regards whether I mention or don't mention someone, I don't mention anyone. I have come here to take stock and to talk about the future. Unfortunately, I am mentioned considerably more than I mention others; but I suppose that is the way things are and I will live with this for the rest of my days.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.