Statements by President of the Government following constitution of Lower House of Parliament

Madrid

President of the Government.- Ladies and gentlemen, a very good day to you all and thank you very much for attending this press briefing.

Whilst my speech will be short, I wanted to address you all and make a few comments following the constitution, this morning, of both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.

The new legislature begins today. I believe it has begun well. I think the agreement reached this morning is a very positive agreement for everyone. The composition of the Board reflects the plurality of the chamber. It is a plural Board and it is a Board presided over by the candidate from the political party that received the most votes and the broadest support at the elections on 26 June, which is the People's Party candidate, Ana Pastor. I am absolutely convinced that she will be a wonderful President of the Parliamentary Board and I am also convinced that she will defend all the rights of each MP, of the 350 people that make up this chamber.

Hence, from this point of view, I should say that the legislature, since we have been able to constitute a plural Board and since this Board is presided over by the candidate from the leading political party according to the will of the Spanish people, I repeat, I believe it has started well.

We now face the second stage which, as you are all aware, is also of great importance, which is forming a government. As you will have heard me say on several occasions, I believe that there are two characteristics that must be taken into account by everyone when forming this government: first, the government needs a minimum degree of political stability in order to take decisions, in order to operate and in order to tackle the challenges facing Spain; and, second, I believe that the decisions which are taken must be taken quickly. I think that it makes no sense to prolong this process indefinitely and I clearly think that it makes no sense for us to repeat the elections. I would like this to be totally ruled out by all of the political groups.

We have spent a long time, virtually since last summer, almost a year now, with a government that has not been able to submit draft laws to Parliament because they couldn't be approved under an acting government after 21 December 2015, and we now need to urgently take decisions of interest to the Spanish people as a whole.

In the month of August, after we are made aware of the deficit path established by the European Commission and this is ratified, we must approve the spending cap. This must be approved by the government elected in the month of August; a meeting must then be held of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council and then approved by the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. If we don't manage to do this, we cannot prepare the budgets for the public authorities or the State Budget that must be approved on 23 September so that it can be presented to the Lower House, pursuant to our constitutional text, on 1 October.

I believe it makes no sense to delay anything, above all, because that would force us to extend the General State Budget which would clearly not help the normal functioning of institutions and we would not be able to take positive decisions that are necessary for the Spanish people as a whole. The challenge for the next four years remains economic recovery, continuing to bed down this recovery and that this filters through too everyone and, above all, to create jobs in our country.

We are doing well. In the first few months of this year, 450,000 contributors have signed up to the Social Security system. If we are capable of continuing down this path we have started on in recent years, the second half of the year will also see more Spaniards finding a job, and hence, we can start to try and get closer to the main goal of this term of office, which is to create two million jobs. I repeat, in the first six months of this year, another 450,000 contributors have started paying in to the Social Security system.

Hence, I repeat, it is necessary to have a stable government than can deal with the minimum obligations of a government; for it to function normally, take decisions and defend our general interests, and it is necessary for this to happen quickly.

For my part, as President of the People's Party and as a candidate to the Presidency of the Government, I should reiterate that I am willing to govern and I am aware of my responsibility to the Spanish people, to those who have voted for us and to those who didn't vote for us. But that responsibility is not mine alone. All those people who have been elected as MPs of this chamber are under a responsibility. We all represent the Spanish people, and I hope that we can all rise to the circumstances.

I believe that any 'Adjournment sine die' of the formation of a government, or blocking it, or forcing new elections to be called would be extremely irresponsible and would be the worst thing that could happen to the Spanish people.

So, that is my position. I have already held some talks, as you know, with the leaders of other political forces, and it is my intention to continue with these talks in the coming days so that this is not prolonged indefinitely.

I am now available to take any questions.

Q:- I wanted to ask you whether, following this session to constitute Parliament, you maintain the schedule you mentioned to us last week, the schedule you would like to follow to be able to hold the vote of investiture on 2 August.

On another note, can we see this agreement reached to form the Board of the Lower House, with the Presidency having fallen on Ana Pastor, as a good precedent, a first step in the right direction towards unblocking the situation with a view to the vote of investiture?

President of the Government.- Your colleague has asked me two questions, which I will repeat in case you didn't hear them.

The first question was related to whether I will maintain the schedule proposed as desirable for the coming days. I, logically, am not the person who sets any sort of schedule. What I will say is what I want, which as I said earlier, is to see this done quickly, primarily because I don't know what can be done in September that cannot be done in the coming fortnight.

Today is 19 July. It is obviously the King who must take the decision as to when the round of consultations begin and whether he will make a proposal, and who he will propose as the candidate for the Presidency of the Government but, in short, I believe that, between us all, if we act sensibly and with a certain loyalty, we will be in a position to resolve this at the start of August. Of course, for my part, I will work for this to become a reality, but, I repeat, it is not something that is only down to me. This is a decision that must be taken by all of us and that affects a great many people.

The second question I was asked is whether the agreement reached to form the Board is a prologue or a positive sign regarding reaching an agreement with a view to forming a government. I want to say two things: the first is that the only agreement we have reached here is on forming the Board of the Lower House. We have managed to reach an agreement on that, and clearly this agreement has been put into practice; at least that is the outcome of the vote.

Aside from that, we are only aware - I have said this to you or, at least, to some of you - of the position of two of the political forces, which are the two forces with which, logically, due to the number of MPs, we could reach an understanding, and it is clear that, if neither of their positions change it is not possible to win a vote of investiture. But, in short, that is something that we will have to talk about in the coming days.

I would like to add something: I have asserted, firstly, that there are some things that are urgent to do and I have repeated that again today; I have asserted, secondly, that in order for a government to be in the minimum situation to operate it needs to have a spending cap approved, and for the public authorities to have their respective budgets drawn up, and for us to have a State Budget so that we can meet our European Commitments, we need to have a common position ahead of the debates that will commence now in the European Union, starting with the exit of the United Kingdom from the euro, and for there to be a minimal consensus on foreign policy, defence policy and counter-terrorism policy. That is the very least we need to start operating.

Aside from that, I have handed over to the different political forces a potential programme for the government and this text states, as you would expect, that this is open to debate. This is not a text that should be interpreted by anyone as a contract of accession, because it isn't; but I believe that it is a text that many people can identify with, because the objectives are very clear: firstly, and this is the key issue, stimulating economic growth and job creation, an issue on which I believe we are all in agreement; and secondly, seeing how we can maintain and improve the main cornerstones of our Welfare State, which comprise healthcare, pensions, education, etc.; we then have the issue of terrorism, the regional financing model… In other words, I believe that the goals are clear.

The measures proposed in that text are measures that are also contained in other papers drafted by other political forces, which I have seen at other times. Clearly not all of them but, obviously, the idea is to see whether it is possible to explore a grass roots understanding, I repeat, on a document that we have made available to everyone.

Now, as you are all very well aware, the most important thing in order to reach some kind of agreement is the will to reach this agreement; if not, things will be more complicated. For our part, you can rest assured that we are going to do whatever is in our hands and is reasonable to ensure that soon Spain has a government.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to ask you two questions. From the talks you have already held with the representatives of the different parties, I wanted to know if you believe the water is deep enough to dive into a vote of investiture, in the event that you are the candidate proposed by the King.

And the second question I wanted to ask is whether you will rule out standing for a vote of investiture if you do not have sufficient support?

President of the Government.- What is important is not whether or not there water is deep enough, but seeing to it that you don't fall in.

As regards whether I will rule this out or not, what I said the other day, and I will repeat this now, is that I want to govern and I would ask that I be allowed to govern, because, furthermore, the People's Party has 52 more seats than the second leading party, and I would ask that we are not blocked out. Hence, I ask to be allowed to govern.

If people don't want the People's Party to be able to govern, it is clear that, as I said the other day, we will have to open a period of reflection, not only us but everyone, in order to see how to overcome this situation. But, I repeat, following the election results and after the people of Spain have announced their decision, I believe that the People's Party, which would like, and I explained this clearly yesterday, a formula to govern that offered the greatest possible stability… If it is not possible to have a stable government, then we would obviously be prepared to take on the responsibility of governing, because we have 137 MPs.

And you know perfectly well what my position is because it has been the same since 21 December. If a great coalition is not possible, because people don't want this, a form of coalition that exists in other countries in the European Union, which I believe would be the best option; if this is not possible because it requires the coming together of the wills of various groups… If this is not possible, I would like to see a government deriving from the results of various agreements which clearly state the goals and where, in addition to these goals, the measures to achieve these goals are also set out. And, if this is not possible either, it would also be highly desirable to see the People's Party take on this responsibility as the most voted-for party, but I would call for these minimum conditions that I have mentioned before.

Hence, these are the possibilities that exist at this time, and obviously the People's Party wishes to govern because it has won the elections and because, logically, it is under an obligation to respect the will of the people who have voted and the will of the nation as a whole, and you are well aware of how they have stated their position.

Q.- The response of the parties to the document that you have sent them has hardly been very positive. You have said that you intend to continue talking. Will you hold another round of meetings? Will another document be drafted?

President of the Government.- If people want to talk with me about my document, then so be it; that is why we have drafted it; if they don't want to talk, then this will require the will of two parties. I will try to talk with the political forces with whom, at least in theory, it is easiest to reach an understanding, but there are no procedures or anything else designed to achieve this. This also depends on the will of others.

But, I repeat, I am aware of the responsibility that falls on me, but everyone else must also be aware of their responsibilities. Added to which, Spain clearly needs a government and it needs a government as swiftly as possible.

Thank you very much.