Mariano Rajoy argues that "imaginary rights of territories" never come before the rights of people

Royal Headquarters of the Postal Services, Madrid

After dedicating a few affectionate words to Francisco Umbral, whose name the prize awarded this year to Fernando Aramburu takes, President of the Government Rajoy said that 'Patria' is "a work of real fiction", given that "all the main characters in the novel existed" and all of the events narrated "actually took place".

He remarked that "Patria is a novel, rather than an essay, that must be read", compulsory reading to "remind us of an important part of our recent history", "to see what happened", "to uncover the truth" and "a story to show everyone what a human being must never do".

The victims

After highlighting the "national consensus" that Aramburu's book has achieved, Mariano Rajoy claimed that this book not only serves "as a reminder", but also so that "some people can see that the motherland, territories or hectares never come before the individual rights of human beings, the first of which is life, but there are others".

Mariano Rajoy added that "the imaginary rights of territories never come before the true owners of these rights, which are people".

The President of the Government made special mention of the victims, all of those who "were mercilessly struck by terrorism", people "who had done no harm to anyone". "They have won this battle; they have defeated the terrorist group ETA. The real triumph is yet to come and 'Patria' has contributed to this highly moral objective".

Victory for Emmanuel Macron in France

Upon his arrival at the Royal Headquarters of the Postal Services and prior to the ceremony to award the prize to the writer Fernando Aramburu, Mariano Rajoy made a statement to the press in which he very positively evaluated the victory by Emmanuel Macron in the French elections. In his opinion, this has been "a very reassuring result for everyone", because "moderation and the Europeans have come out on top". He added that "for those of us who believe in Europe, it was fundamental for Emmanuel Macron to win the elections and not Marine Le Pen".

The President of the Government also added that a new period is now opening up in Europe in which there will be greater stability and confidence and that the markets will now be reassured. "I believe that this period could coincide with a period of economic growth in each and every one of the Member States of the European Union".