Press conference by President of the Government

Madrid

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

As you are all perfectly aware, I have just attended a meeting called by H.M. the King corresponding to the second round of consultations taking place with the leaders of the different political formations in order to assign the formation of a government.

I have explained my position to H.M. the King, because he asked me to do so. My position, and that of my party, is that the results of the ballot boxes send out a clear and comprehensible message: the Spanish people want us to talk to each other, to listen to each other, to reach an understanding and for us to find a way to form a government with sufficient support to take decisions in order to tackle the serious challenges facing our country.

My proposal to form a government, and that of the People's Party since 21 December, at the meeting of its Executive Committee the day after the elections were held, remains the same: we want to form a government supported by the People's Party, the Socialist Party and Ciudadanos; a government headed up by the People's Party as it was the political force that received the greatest support from the Spanish people - 1.7 million votes more than the second leading political force, or almost seven points and 33 seats - and it won in 13 of the 17 autonomous regions, and in 39 of the 52 Spanish provinces.

I believe that this government, supported by these parties, makes great sense, because these three political forces are in agreement on the key issues, on those aspects that are of greatest concern to the Spanish people as a whole: the unity of Spain, national sovereignty, the equality of all Spanish people, our position in Europe, the Euro and the fight against terrorism, and also on the main national goals which at this time must be economic recovery, consolidating this recovery and job creation, which is our great goal for the next four years.

Hence, these political forces agree on the main issues, and as regards those issues of a lesser importance, if we are capable of agreeing on the main issues then I am sure that, by all doing our part, we would also be able to agree on them in the future.

I also want to say that this coalition would be able to implement the major reforms that Spain needs. These would be long-lasting reforms; they would be reforms supported by a large majority of MPs in the Lower House and also of Members of the Upper House. Furthermore, this coalition would send out a message of stability, security and certainty both within Spain and abroad which would be good to help bed down the recovery of our economy and to create jobs.

The main goals we should pursue are: firstly, economic growth and job creation. Despite the fact that things are improving and that, in contrast to what happened a few years ago - we are now creating jobs in Spain - it is still necessary to make an effort because there are still many people who want to work but are unable to. The second main goal would be to maintain and improve the key pillars of our Welfare State, fundamentally public pensions, healthcare, education and social services; the third, to defend the unity of the Spanish nation, and the fourth, to effectively fight terrorism.

I believe that this proposal made by the People's Party over the course of the last few weeks is the most sensible and reasonable proposal on the table. This would be a government backed by more than 250 MPs, which could push through, as I just mentioned, reforms for a long time to come and which, I insist, would send out a message both within Spain and abroad to investors, to the markets and to entrepreneurs. This would offer them tranquillity and say: you can put your trust in Spain.

There is another alternative to the one I have proposed, which is an alternative in which the second leading party - the Socialist Party - would have the support of the pro-independence parties, either through their vote in favour or through their abstention, but this would always require some form of agreement and pact; and at the same time it would need the active support of Podemos. We believe that this would not be good for Spain; we believe that this is not what the vast majority of the Spanish people want and we believe that this heterogeneous, contradictory and experimental alliance could not be described, as some are saying, as an alliance of progress, because this would be taking poetic licence a step too far.

Hence, we are going to commit to moderation, to common sense, to Europe, to the Euro, to economic recovery, to reforms and to the Spanish Constitution.

I also told the King that I do not yet have a majority to try to form a government, for one fundamental reason that everyone can appreciate, which is that the Socialist Party refuses to enter into dialogue - I am not saying that it refuses to make an agreement, I am saying that it refuses to enter into dialogue, which comes before reaching an agreement - and hence, I cannot guarantee, at today's date, to form a stable government in Spain.

I wish to place special emphasis on this last assertion I have made because, without the Socialist Party, the People's Party cannot form this government I have just mentioned which, I insist, I believe is the best option for defending the interests of the Spanish people.

In short, what I have said to the King is that I can see two options: one, that which we have been proposing since 21 December, a moderate, realistic and sensible option; and two, a radical option, supported, moreover, by parties radically opposed to the Constitution and to some of its basic principles, such as the unity of Spain and national sovereignty.

Finally, I said to the King that while we do not have enough support today, we are going to see how events play out in the future. So, my option and that of my party remains valid and we do not renounce, during the course of this process, standing, at a certain time, if the King considers this opportune, to be invested and receive sufficient support and be able to form this potential government that I have just referred to.

Do you have any questions?

Q.- Two things. The last time we were here, after your last visit to the King, you told us that the King had asked you to form a government and that you declined. I would like to know whether the King asked you to form a government again this time and whether you also declined, or if he simply did not offer you this option.

What step are you going to take now to reach this agreement that you do not renounce reaching?

President of the Government.- The King did not ask me to form a government today, which seems very reasonable to me, because the question is to try to go to an investiture session and, as I have already said, I cannot be invested if I don't reach an understanding with the Socialist Party. I could reach an agreement with other political forces but this would not be enough, because the numbers are what they are and I cannot change them. And it is very difficult to reach an agreement with the Socialist Party, as I said before, when they have systematically refused, I repeat, not to reach an agreement, which I can understand, but to enter into dialogue, which I cannot understand.

Secondly, what steps will I take? We are logically going to wait to see what decision the King takes, but we will obviously continue to strive to form this government I have referred to, because we appreciate that three possibilities exist, and that is something I have been saying for some time now; this coalition I propose; the coalición between the PSOE and Podemos and the pro-independence parties, which is very negative in my opinion, for the interests of the Spanish people; or holding general elections which, quite frankly, I do not believe is the right option for the general interests of the Spanish people. This would mean prolonging this period of uncertainty, this period if instability and, in all honesty, this is not in Spain's interest nor that of the Spanish people, nor is it in the interest of the economy of our country or of the citizens of our country.

Q.- Mr President of the Government, I would like to know, because many things have been published over the last few days, whether the candidature of the People's Party, which you say remains in place, will continue to be headed up by you and whether you will continue heading up this candidature in the case of new elections.

Then, the issue of corruption in recent days has also served for certain political parties, such as Ciudadanos, to bring you into question. I would like to know whether, in your opinion, Rita Barberá should urgently offer explanations and whether you believe that the People's Party has done everything it should have done to combat corruption in Valencia.

President of the Government.- As regards your first question, I would say that yes. I believe that it is important for us to be capable of realising that we are in a democratic system precisely because, as you say, it is possible to say many things. But please, this is a serious party, it has stood in the elections, it has come out as the leading political force, it has had its candidate and hence we will continue to maintain this in the future. In other words, it is not a case of undertaking experiments now; it is fundamentally a case of respecting the will of the Spanish people and this means many things: firstly, defending what each of us has proposed to the Spanish people and now, as I said earlier, trying to reach an understanding.

You have asked me if we have done everything possible to combat corruption. Of course we have done everything we have been capable of doing and you can be totally and utterly certain that we will do anything else that needs to be done. This has been an incredibly complex term of office and we have passed a raft of laws to combat corruption that has never before been seen in our country. I believe that the Courts of Justice, the public prosecutors, the police, the Guardia Civil and the State Tax Agency have acted with full independence, and we have ejected those people who have done what they shouldn't have done.

Now, in Valencia, as you know, all those people who have been arrested have been suspended and ejected from the rank and file of the People's Party. Shortly, a management body of the People's Party will be formed in the city of Valencia by the regional organisation and, thenceforth, it will be the regional organisation which, in light of the testimony and the legal situation of each one of the people under investigation, will take decisions which we will support.

And the situation of Rita Barberá will be exactly the same as for any other member of the People's Party, from the rank and file in the smallest district of Spain to the president of the party, which is me.

Q.- President of the Government, on the issue of dialogue with the Leader of the Opposition, today in his speech in the Lower House of Parliament, he announced his intention of speaking with the PP. Now, 45 days on, he maintains that he wants to speak with the PP. What I wanted to know is whether you are prepared to speak to him under any circumstance, even if it is not at Moncloa Palace and upon a call from you, and even if it is not for you to offer him support but to talk about everything. What conditions would you impose to speak with the Leader of the Opposition at this time?

President of the Government.- In reality, there seems to be a certain intent to confuse, for want of a better expression, because do you remember the "no, no and no"? "I am not going to speak with the People's Party", "I don't want to reach an understanding with the People's Party", and other phrases of a similar vein. It is truly something that I have had the chance to speak with many political leaders, with Mr Iglesias and with Mr Rivera, and yet it hasn't been possible for me to speak with Mr Sánchez.

But, having said that, the People's Party has been saying that it is good to talk, but also to listen and enter into a dialogue; the People's Party will also listen with keen interest to what the Socialist Party wants to say to us and, moreover, we will explain the model that we want for Spain, the government that we believe is the best option, which is what I have pointed to in the first part of my speech this afternoon: a coalition government headed up by the People's Party, for a reason that is easy to appreciate, because it won the elections, a government backed by the Socialist Party and by Ciudadanos. This will be our position.

Q.- President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez has said that he is prepared to try to become the President of the Government and that he doesn't want to support you, as you have reminded us. And Ciudadanos has said that it doesn't consider you to be the best candidate to regenerate political life. So do you believe that you have any chance of becoming President of the Government again?

President of the Government.- I believe I do and that is why I still stand as the candidate for my party and in my own name. I believe that we have two alternatives here, as I said before: an alliance between all the left-wing parties and the pro-independence parties, Podemos and the Socialist Party, or for the Socialist Party to reach some form of understanding with the People's Party. We are in exactly the same situation as we were back on 20 December.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to ask you if you would understand it if the King entrusted Pedro Sánchez with this investiture.

President of the Government.- I always respect the decisions that H.M. the King takes in the exercise of his powers. Hence, whatever the decision adopted by H.M. the King, I will obviously respect it.

Q.- President of the Government, I wanted to know whether, in this dialogue between the People's Party and the Socialist Party, in the event that the Socialist Party were prepared to form the coalition government that you seek, but without you heading up this government, would you be willing to accept this?

Then, would you also be prepared to accept a possible government between the PSOE and Ciudadanos with the People's Party abstaining?

President of the Government.- Under no circumstance. That is the answer to both questions - the first and the second. The People's Party has won the elections, they were won by one candidate who received the support of 7.2 million Spaniards and we are obviously not going to betray their confidence with games.

Q.- President of the Government, there is a lot of complaint about the lack of dialogue with the PSOE, so why don't you try to attract Ciudadanos into a government pact and later draw the Socialist Party in?

President of the Government.- I am not complaining. I am simply stating what is an objective fact but I am not making any form of judgement, and hence I am not complaining. I have spoken with Ciudadanos, our talks were very interesting and we have agreed to continue talking, but it is very important to take the numbers into account, the maths. That is very important. And, as you are aware, the People's Party cannot form the government I have referred to, which I believe would be the best thing for Spain, without an agreement with the Socialist Party. Everything else is very important, but without an agreement with the Socialist Party it is simply not possible, something which is also important.

Q.- How much time do you believe we should give Pedro Sánchez, should he become the candidate, to try to form a government and so be able to negotiate with the rest of the political forces? How long before you believe you will have the chance to become a candidate again and present your candidature to the investiture?

President of the Government.- I am not in a position to answer that question. I don't know how long an agreement could take, nor do I know what talks may take place and with whom; I just don't know. But, in the end, agreements are, fundamentally, the result of a political will: when there is a political will, things are much easier; when there is no political will, you may have all the time in the world but it will remain impossible. With the Socialist Party, if they do not have the political will to enter into dialogue with the People's Party, one month, two months, three or five months may pass and yet we remain in exactly the same situation. So, I just don't know. I am not in a position and it will be the Speaker of the House who takes the decision pursuant to the provisions of our legal system.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.