Press conference by President of the Government

Madrid

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

As you know, I have just met with H.M. the King within the framework of the round of political consultations that the monarch has been carrying out over the last week to analyse the formation of a new government with the different political groups.

As you are also aware, the People's Party won the elections held on 26 June and won them with a great deal more support over its rivals than it had done in December.

I will spare you the details; you already know them. What I want to underline is that the message from our people this time round on their political preferences has been much clearer than in December. Even so, the support obtained is still a long way off providing a large enough majority to be able to take on the responsibility of governing without the support of other political groups. We are aware of that and since the outset we have acted accordingly by fostering all manner of political contacts to avoid a new stalemate, which is wholly undesirable.

I have conveyed my firm conviction to the King that, after more than seven months with an acting government, all of the political leaders have a responsibility to the Spanish people. I undoubtedly have more responsibility as the president of the most voted-for party, but all of the other leaders, according to the support they have received, must also collaborate to avoid a repetition of what has been happening in Spain since 20 December.

We have neither the luxury to enjoy another failed legislature nor to suffer further frustrations. We must avoid a third round of elections, we must find a channel for the will of the Spanish people as expressed through the ballot box, be respectful of how they have voted and offer a swift solution that allows the thrust of our economic recovery to be maintained.

Today we have seen the new figures of the Labour Force Survey which confirm an intense rhythm of job creation, for the third straight year, and that is the best possible evidence that we are on the right path.

Yesterday, thanks to the credibility gained by Spain over recent years and thanks to the reforms undertaken by the government, we also saw the European Union set a new path for the deficit reduction without being penalised for straying from our initial targets. I believe that these are two wonderful pieces of news which should serve to spur us on to not drop our guard and to continue doing things well.

We need to set to work as soon as possible on meeting our commitments with our partners and, above all, to make progress towards the great national goal of reducing unemployment.

We also need to get to work soon to decisively tackle the serious challenges facing us. Just yesterday, we witnessed a new and very serious challenge to our constitutional order and to our institutions, in this case by part of some of the bodies of the Regional Parliament of Catalonia. We will offer, as we always have, the appropriate response in defence of the law, of our institutions and of the rights of all the Spanish people. In fact, I have also taken the opportunity to inform the King of the next steps I will be taking, as I am doing now and will continue to do with the leaders of the main political forces in our country.

Everyone should be rest assured that we will uphold our obligations, but no-one should forget that this very serious institutional challenge is one of the most powerful arguments to urgently form a stable and sound government as soon as possible.
With these priorities - maintaining economic recovery and tackling the challenges and threats facing us - just a few days after the elections we sent the rest of the political groups a working document with proposals for a shared programme of government. Logically, this document is based on our own proposals, but it is up for discussion, as it must be. We never saw this as a contract for accession but rather as a script open for negotiation. This was and is a proposal open to dialogue and agreement, which sets the broad strokes for Spain, on which we can find a consensus and which makes proposals to turn this consensus into a reality.

I also informed the King of the talks which, both publicly and privately, I have held with the rest of the leaders to explore the possibility of forging agreements on governing, which I consider to be absolutely necessary for the country. I also informed him of the agreements, in my opinion considerably generous and sensible, that were reached to form the Board of the Lower House.

I did not need to explain to the King the positions of the different groups, because he has seen these first hand in his talks over recent days. What I have done is to assure him of my commitment to make every effort possible to forge these agreements that Spain needs.

The King has commissioned me to try to stand for a vote of investiture to the Presidency of the Government. I explained to him that, to date, I do not have sufficient support to do so, but that I would accept the commission. I will look for this support, which I have been doing to date, and I will now do so, moreover, in a role under a commission from the Head of State. It is my intention to discuss and negotiate a potential programme to govern. To do this, I will address my actions on a preferential basis to the pro-Constitution parties, those with which I feel it would be most reasonable to reach an agreement, now more than ever.

The vast majority of Spaniards share these same values: the defence of unity and national sovereignty, our rights and liberties, our commitment to the European project and the fight against terrorism. I believe that these common values are a good starting point to make progress on dialogue.

I will seek support to form a government that is moderate, stable, with clear parliamentary support, a well-defined action plan and a calendar in which to carry this out. In my opinion, that has always been the best option available to Spain at this time.

But if this option is not viable - and I repeat, in my opinion, this is the best option - I would also be willing to explore the possibility of a minority government, with only the support of the People's Party. Although it is true that this formula is only possible if the rest of the groups guarantee a minimum level of institutional loyalty so as not to veto urgent or important issues such as those we are facing at this time: I am referring, for example, to budget stability and sustainability of the public debt targets, to transposition of EU directives, the preparation of the Budget, counter-terrorism measures and the broad strokes of our foreign policy.

I will step up my negotiation efforts. I will begin a round of contacts in search of the support to govern; on this occasion with a commission from the King. Within a reasonable period of time, I will report back on the talks I have held, on the results of these talks, on the support I have received for a potential vote of investiture and, consequently, whether or not I am in a position to form a government. I repeat, for my part, you will not find me wanting in terms of effort or commitment. I hope to find the same spirit of understanding in my counterparts and I trust that this will be the case. I believe that there are more things that unite us than divide us, above all, if we stop talking about our party positions, the infamous "red lines", and tackle the issues that truly concern and interest the Spanish people.

I believe that the elections - no, I don't believe, this is an objective fact - are now behind us and it is time to stop rabble-rousing and proclamations to seek votes. The electoral competition is now over, the Spanish people have pronounced their decision and it is now up to us, as their representatives, to honour the trust placed in us.

Now is not the time for rivalry, now is the time to build, to overcome our differences and to provide the solution the Spanish people expect from us.

Spain needs a government; it needs it because of the economic situation, because of the pressing issues on the calendar, to enhance institutional stability, to enhance its international image and also because of the security and certainty expected and demanded, and rightly so, by our compatriots.

Spain needs a government because there is still a lot to do in order to achieve the levels of progress and well-being we aspire to. Despite today's good news I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, there is still a lot to do to achieve this national target of 20 million Spaniards in work.

It is necessary for the government to tackle, with the broadest possible consensus, the very serious challenges we are facing and which leave no room for selfishness. I have just mentioned the threat to unity and national sovereignty, but I could also mention the threat of Jihadi terrorism, the future of the European Union, maintaining our welfare system, etc., etc.

It is time to talk and reach agreements, to join forces and work together, and that is also politics and politics are just what we need now. That is what I believe and that is what I have conveyed to the King.

I will draw to a close now. I will resume negotiations as from tomorrow, now under a royal commission and with the aims I mentioned to you at the beginning of my speech: avoiding fresh elections, respecting the will of the Spanish people and managing to form this government that the Spanish people need and have now been waiting for over more than seven months.

I am now available to take any questions.

Q.- Mr President of the Government, I would like to know, regardless of this round of contacts to be initiated now, if you have a specific date set for the vote of investiture; if you have done your calculations as to when this Investiture Debate may be held.

My second question. Today we have heard your main potential political partners, Mr Rivera and Mr Sánchez, and we can deduce from their statements that over this period of time absolutely nothing has changed and the political stalemate remains exactly the same as on election day. What can you offer Mr Sánchez and Mr Rivera so that political progress can be made in this new round of contacts?

President of the Government.- This period, as I said in my speech, must be a reasonable period of time. A period during which I will do my utmost to try and receive this backing in order to stand for a vote of investiture, which must be a reasonable period. We don't need a lot of time because the issue is fundamentally, as you all know, one of political will.

Now, I would like to say something: this period must not prevent us from approving, in due time and form, our commitments to our European partners, particularly the budget stability and debt targets, the State spending cap and the Budget. We are now in a better situation because we approved the Budget for 2016; but should this Budget not be approved and should we not meet out European commitments, this will undoubtedly be very costly for our country, for the Spanish economy and for the household economies of all Spaniards.

Following the decision adopted yesterday by the European Commission, we must submit a document to the European Commission before 15 October, in which we explain what we are going to do in order to comply with this public deficit target for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018; we must set out what our commitments are in that document and we must submit the draft General State Budget, which should already have been approved by the government, for the year 2017.

Hence, I repeat, the sooner a government is formed the better and, of course, I believe it is key to approve the General State Budget in due time because, if not, we must ask for an extension and that will undoubtedly be negative for the general interests of the Spanish people. But I am not going to set a specific date, because what is important is what I have just said.

What can I say to my potential partners in the coming days? As I have just said, we are fundamentally facing a problem of political will, because we agree on many essential issues and you have heard me say that on many occasions.

We agree on such key issues as the unity of Spain, national sovereignty, the equality of the Spanish people, the European project, which is undoubtedly a very important issue for us, and hence, we agree - if you will allow me to use this expression - on the two main constitutions: the Spanish Constitution and the European acquis, which is another constitution applicable to all Spaniards. And we agree on foreign policy, which fundamentally comprises defence policy, the fight against terrorism, and we also agree on the major goals, because everyone… I don't know anyone who does not want to see more growth and jobs created; who does not want to see us maintain and improve, to the extent of our possibilities, the Welfare State.

We agree on what is important for the people of Spain. Aside from that, there are discrepancies because, if not, we would be the same; but I obviously believe that an understanding can be reached.

What I am going to say comprises three essential issues: Spain needs a government now; Spain needs this - it is a question of pure common sense. This government should be headed up by the People's Party if we want to respect the will of the people - that is, in essence, democracy - and the People's Party won the elections, and by a greater margin on 26 June than on 20 December, which you all know. Lastly, I would say that I can see no other reasonable alternative to the proposal we are making.

Aside from that, I would again ask for an understanding to be reached on the programme, and we are going to see what we can build between us all. But, I repeat, there are points we can agree on - Spain needs a government, we should respect the will of the Spanish people and, moreover, there is no reasonable alternative.

Q.- President of the Government, you explained that you mentioned the content of the public and private contacts you have had with the rest of the political leaders to the King, which confirms that you have spoken with both Sánchez and Rivera more times than we have been publicly aware of. I don't know if that allows you to be more optimistic or not regarding the possibility of achieving a stable and moderate government, because Rivera has once again insisted that he will only vote in favour of a PP candidate at a vote of investiture if that candidate is not you. And it does not seem like Ciudadanos will change its position on the issue.

President of the Government.- What I would ask is that the will of the Spanish people be upheld, but he has never said that to me in the talks we have had, nor is it clear whether the People's Party would accept that type of approach.

Vetoes are to be decided by the Spanish people. On 26 June, the Spanish people gave their opinion on the parties that stood at the elections and on the candidates that stood at those elections, and also on the vetoes. Hence, I fear that this is not an issue.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to know whether you have made a commitment to the King to stand for a vote of investiture or, in the event that you do not receive the support, will you decline to attend the Lower House for the investiture debate?

President of the Government.- That is a good question and I will answer it by saying that we should not get ahead of the events in any walk of life, much less so in the circumstances surrounding us at this time. Hence, we are going to continue working, we are going to try to form a government, we are going to do so with a royal commission, we are going to see if everyone is able to act with a certain spirit of vision, but apart from that, I fully understand that you want to anticipate the future, but it's not possible at this time.

Q.- Two questions. One, along the line of what you answered to my colleague, while it is not a question of anticipating the future, I would like to know whether your commitment is only to stand for a vote of investiture if you manage to forge these pacts.

On another note, when you speak about the pro-Constitution parties and forming a moderate government, does this rule out such parties as Convergència Democrática?

President of the Government.- I have answered your first question perfectly well already.

As regards your second question, I will try to agree with those parties with who it is reasonable to reach a minimum degree of understanding on a programme and, in particular, with those parties that respect the constitutional order. Aside from that, I may speak with everyone, and indeed I did, as you are very well aware, but in terms of reaching an agreement, it would seem that the most reasonable course is to reach an agreement with the parties with whom a minimum degree of understanding can be reached on a programme and, in particular, with those political forces that respect the constitutional order.

Q.- President of the Government, in recent days, the Vice-Secretaries of the PP have explained that the party, your party, would be prepared to make certain changes, certain improvements, they said, to the labour reform or to the LOMCE, even a reform of the justice system, and Mr Maroto also included the issue of a constitutional reform. I wanted to know if you would be prepared to tackle these issues over the coming days with Ciudadanos and with the PSOE.

On another note, in relation to the challenge from the Regional Parliament of Catalonia yesterday, I wanted to know whether you are going to ask for the Speaker of the Regional Parliament to be suspended.

President of the Government.- As I said to you earlier, and as you are perfectly aware, we have submitted a document to the rest of the political forces. This is a document, worked on and drafted in all earnest; in other words, it is not frivolous. We have spent four years governing, we have experience to back us and we know that there are certain things that are good to do and others that we believe would not be good to do.

We do not like the idea of reforming laws that we have approved, simply because they have been shown to work. Now, aside from that, it is clear that we have 137 seats and that, logically, if we want to reach an understanding we will have to give ground on certain proposals to other political forces, as yet to be decided on. But of course it is the other political forces that must say to us, if in the end we sit down to negotiate, that "I don't like this aspect of the document that you have given me and I would like, in order to reach an understanding, for you to take this into account".

Hence, this is a negotiation process in which the People's Party will attend, as I said in my speech, with an open mind, because it would be absurd to do things any other way. We are not proposing a contract of accession; what we are proposing is a document which, in our opinion, contains what we should do over the next four years which, I repeat, is not frivolous, because we have been in government for four years now and we know what we have done in terms of economic policy, we know what we have done through the Ministry of Public Works and what remains pending.

Hence, what we want is to negotiate and negotiating undoubtedly implies giving ground, as you would expect because, if not, no negotiation is possible. Now, we will see what that consists of. This also depends on what the priorities of the rest of the political groups that wish to speak to us are.

As regards your second question on the situation in Catalonia, we will take a decision tomorrow at the Council of Ministers: a ruling enforcement petition. We will file this with the Constitutional Court and please allow me not to go into detail now because I would like to debate this first in the Council of Ministers, and I would like to inform the rest of the political parties first, as I did just a few hours ago. But, I repeat, tomorrow we will take a decision in the Council of Ministers.

Q.- President of the Government, forgive me but I don't have clear…

President of the Government.- I will make an effort to clarify this for you because if not, that will greatly disturb me.

Q.- Can we understand that your "yes" to the King is conditional, it is subordinate, it is more like a "maybe"?

I would also like to know, after the term to approve the Budget and the spending cap has passed, if you haven't received sufficient support, what will happen then?

And I would also like to know whether the round of contacts you intend to initiate immediately will be public or private.

President of the Government.-The round of contacts will be public or private at the choice of those who wish to talk with me, which is exactly what I have been doing for a long time now and I believe is the serious approach. Normally, agreements are reached when you work in a calm atmosphere, things can be said in comfort and they are then explained and reported on. But, at any event, I will conform with what those who wish to speak with me decide.

What will happen in the case that we are unable to approve the spending cap or the General State Budget and submit this document to the European Commission in which we undertake to take decisions to comply with the deficit path on 15 October? First, from the point of view of Spain's credibility, we will be left in a dire position, of course, if after holding elections on 20 December we are still unable to send a draft budget in October. So, we would then not really be in the best of positions.

I believe that this is not going to generate any climate of security, certainty or confidence, whether with the economic and social agents, or with the markets, both in Spain and further afield. I believe this to be absolutely true and that is why I was resolute in approving the Budget for this year, for 2016, back when we did, something which some people, as you are aware, clearly did not share.

I believe, furthermore, that we cannot allow ourselves not to meet our commitments with the European Union or with the Commission, particularly after the Commission has given us a further two years to meet them and thus reach a deficit of below 3%, and after the Commission didn't fine us, which it could have done.

Hence, I will obviously try - it doesn't only depend on me - to ensure that Spain rises to the circumstances and meets its commitments with the Commission because, as well as this being good for the Commission and for the Government of Spain, this is also good for the Spanish people and for the people of Europe as a whole.

In terms of the interpretations you mentioned, I will stick to apprising you of the situation and it is then down to you to interpret things how you will. I hope you will make a prudent, sensible and reasonable interpretation; moreover, I don't just hope that, I have no doubt that that will absolutely be the case. What I would say is that I will do everything in my hands to ensure that Spain has a government, I will do everything I can but, I repeat, it doesn't solely and exclusively depend on me and getting ahead of the game, as I said to one of your colleagues earlier, is something that I believe doesn't lead anywhere, whether here and now or at any other time in our history.

Q.- President of the Government, sorry for insisting but I don't understand very well this idea you have introduced of the possibility of declining at a later date. I understand that the King is aware that this possibility is on the table and that you have spoken about this in these terms, and that the two of you are aware that this is how things stand. I would ask you to explain how this idea fits in, the possibility of you deciding to decline, in two weeks' time, if you don't receive the necessary support, with what you said about being prepared to stand for a vote of investiture alone with the support of your 137 MPs.

Secondly, I wanted to ask you if you don't think that this certainty you speak of and that the markets demand, that your European partners demand, wouldn't be clearer and easier to obtain if you had accepted this commission forthrightly, without the doubt surrounding whether you could leave in a few months.

President of the Government.- I want to tell you something: I have said that I am prepared to govern with 137 MPs, which is not the same as standing for a vote of investiture with 137 MPs. I said absolutely nothing about that. They are two very different things.

What I am doing is meeting my obligation, which is, given that I have 137 MPs and a royal commission… I believe that we are in a different situation now than on 20 December. Back on 20 December I was absolutely sure that the majority of the Lower House was against me while I believe that now the stage is a little more open, I believe that there are other possibilities and I consider that it is my obligation, as president of the most voted-for party and after receiving a royal commission, to try to see if these possibilities can be firmed up into something concrete.

Q.- President of the Government, I am curious about something. I wanted to know if when speaking to the King, you proposed to him that he gave you more time to negotiate before receiving this royal commission.

Secondly, other spokespersons have expressed the concern of the King over recent days at the current stalemate and I wanted to know whether you have spoken about this, and the political cost that this may bear.

President of the Government.- What I spoke with the King about is exactly what I have told you, except what I have not told you, and, of course, what the King told me is that I should be commissioned with this and I told him "yes", that I would accept. Hence, that is all I have been commissioned with by the King.

As regards the stalemate and all these other things, I haven't spoken about them with the King at all. The most important and significant thing is that I am going to try to obtain the votes and the support necessary to form a government, which is what everyone expects, but I repeat, that doesn't solely and exclusively depend on me.

Q.- We are all insisting along the same lines…

President of the Government.- Well don't do it because if you do I will simply tell you that I have already answered that question. Ask me two questions then.

Q.- I wanted to call on your responsibility as President of the Government, because many Spaniards are listening to us and watching us and there will certainly be some people planning to go on holiday or in the middle of their holiday. What feeling do you think they will have when they see that not only you, but all the political leaders have been in touch with H.M. the King and after this round of contacts the same confusion prevails, the same stalemate, and even the most voted-for candidate has just refused to tell us that he will stand under any circumstances?

One clarification, would you have preferred the King not to have commissioned you?

President of the Government.- There is a significant difference, which is that I have accepted the commission from H.M. the King, and there is another significant difference and you only have to listen to the press briefings that have been given today: I want to govern. I haven't heard the same from the rest of the political forces and I would like some of them to accompany us in governing. And there is another significant difference: we now have a royal commission and there is a political party and an individual who are going to try to get the votes to that end, because the end is what matters. This stalemate will disappear when we have a government in Spain but whilst there is no government in Spain, I fear that this stalemate will remain.

Hence, there is a very important difference there: here we have a political party that takes on its responsibilities and which says that Spain needs a government, that we are prepared to head up this government, that we accept this commission and that we are going to work as hard as needs be and with an open mind to try to form it. That is the difference.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that I have made everything perfectly clear. Thank you very much for your attention.

Q.- Are you going to go on holiday?

President of the Government.- I am not going to go on holiday and I hope - you can all do what you want, as is normal; we can at least agree on that! - that my potential partners will also rise to the circumstances. And they know what that means.

Q.- So, when is the deadline? 15 October?

President of the Government.- I explained that earlier. No, by 15 October everything needs to be approved.

Thank you very much.