Speech by acting President of the Government at continuation of Investiture Debate in Lower House of Parliament

Madrid

Madam Speaker, Members of Parliament,

72 hours ago I addressed this House to state that Spain urgently needs a government and that the best government would be one capable of effectively tackling the most pressing challenges we face at this time, which is why I offered to form a government with a broad Parliamentary base. I also asserted that there was no reasonable alternative to the candidature I presented to this House, something I believe was made patently clear during the debate. And finally, I added that we are in an exceptional situation at this time which is unprecedented in Spanish politics; that it is impossible for the Spanish people to have a government without agreements to form this and that, hence, it is the responsibility of all of the groups in this House to do whatever is in their hands to help form a government in order to avoid yet another repetition of the elections.

Honourable Members,

As you are well aware, my candidature includes the support of the Parliamentary groups of Ciudadanos and the People's Party; it is also backed by the vote of the MP for the Canary Island Coalition and of the MPs of the Navarre People's Union and Forum Asturias who, in the same way as the Party of Aragon, stood in the elections in a coalition with the People's Party. Once again I thank each and every one of these MPs for their support.

It is also well-known that this support was not enough to win the vote of confidence and that is the reason why we are meeting here again to see if it is possible to increase the number of votes and place Spain back on the path of democratic normality.

Honourable Members,

The situation in which we now find ourselves can be summarised by the fact that the Socialist Group, whose collaboration I have specifically requested, refuses to allow the only government that seems viable to be formed, and does so without offering any alternative solution. I can only imagine that this is because it does not have one and that it doesn't have one because one simply doesn't exist, except the highly undesirable option of a heterogeneous, extremist and contradictory front, as was made clear in the debate two days ago.

So, Honourable Members, if they don´t want to contribute to Spain having a government and is unable to offer an alternative that is politically, economically and constitutionally viable, why doesn't it state what it wants openly and frankly? What it cannot do is assert one thing and another at the same time; for example, that it doesn't want to repeat the elections, but that neither is it going to allow a government to be formed.

Instead of being frank, the only response Mr Sánchez offered us on Wednesday was a sample of his hackneyed and reiterative habitual pretexts for disguising his interest in repeating the elections without openly saying so.

Honourable Members,

Arguing a lack of agreement with the tasks carried out by the People's Party, which have managed to straighten out Spain's course, or disparage the economic, social and employment results that the majority of our citizens' support is no more than a pretext that is way below the commitment he wishes to avoid making. It is a very poor excuse for such a serious act as blocking Spanish politics and condemning our citizens to a third round of elections. Criticising a government programme in which he didn't want to participate so as to avoid making a commitment and avoid the danger of his proposals being accepted is not even a pretext, because it is no more than an evasion.

And if we are talking about excuses, there is none like a potential ally. What does Mr Sánchez mean anyway when he talks about potential allies? Can those who are threatening to impose independence on one part of our national territory be considered at this time to be potential allies of the People's Party? And how can he assert that the Socialist Party is not among the potential allies of the People's Party?

Honourable Member, you have only arrived here recently, but as far back as I can remember, the habitual ally of my group in regard to everything that affects the major decisions on the future of Spain has always been, and will necessarily always continue to be, the Socialist Party, and vice versa.

It is true, Mr Sánchez; the Socialist Party and the People's Party are not potential allies; we are essential allies for the major questions that affect the Spanish people. You cannot say to me now that the Socialist Party, in regard to Spain, feels closer to the populist or pro-independence groups than to the People's Party. It would be a shame if that were the case, and were this to be true, then all the people of Spain should be made aware of this.

At any event, Honourable Members, that does not affect what I am saying. He would still need the People's Party's agreement to do anything significant.

Honourable Members,

In all civilised countries, the Socialist Party is the ally of any other party that shares the basic constitutional consensus, in any civilised country. In Spain as well, at least until now. By way of example, not so much time has gone by since the then-President of the Government and General Secretary of the Socialist Party, Mr Rodríguez Zapatero asked for my collaboration in August 2011 to amend the Constitution. How long did it take us to reach an agreement? The time it took me to find out about it. And, as I said before, it would not have been possible without our acquiescence.

That is how things are, Honourable Member. I am not disguising the reality. That is the state of affairs when we talk about our economy or when we talk about the whole EU acquis, which, to some extent, is another form of Constitution. Or did we join the Euro with the majority of this side of the House or the other side of the House on another issue? No, we have done so by forging a national agreement between the Spanish political forces. And that is always the way when we tackle foreign affairs, defence, the fight against terrorism, etc.

Honourable Members.

That is how things are, and that is right, whenever an exceptional situation arises and today, Honourable Members, is an exceptional situation, and that is the fundamental difference between what we have gone through in Spain since 1977, the date on which our first democratic elections were held, and the situation now. This is an exceptional situation, Honourable Members, because we have held two general elections and we are running the risk of having to go back to the ballot box yet again, and all within the space of a year.

Mr Sánchez, I am not even asking you today for an agreement with the People's Party alone; I have not asked you for that in the last eight months and I won't ask you now. I am asking you to reach an understanding that other groups holding 170 seats have already signed up to. I am offering you an agreement that is not rigid, but open to modifications and suggestions. I offered to form a coalition with you months ago, which is the standard course in Europe when circumstances arise such as we have here now, and you haven't accepted this. I can understand that but, in all honesty, in light of events, I believe that it would have been better for Spain.

I then offered to agree on broad State pacts with you; and again this week. I will make this offer to you again now. Regional financing, pensions, education, gender-based violence, these are all issues that are worthy of a commitment.

Honourable Member, if you don't want any of this, if you want to stand on the sidelines, if you persist in your policy of "no"; "no" and "no", at least allow a government to be formed in Spain. Honourable Member, let's leave excuses, pretexts, evasive responses to one side and get to the crux of the matter, to what is important, which is the problems facing Spain; problems which are neither yours nor mine, Honourable Member, but are problems for everyone. That is why we are here: to once again take shared responsibility for something we cannot deal with alone.

Honourable Members of Parliament,

As I pointed out the other day, the pressing need to form a government is dictated because the circumstances, particularly the deadlines, will pay a heavy price if we are unable to act responsibly. This urgency is imposed by certain commitments that cannot be put off and which affect us all, not only the People's Party, and which call for a coherent response from everyone, and not just the People's Party.

We are all under an obligation to ensure that Spain avoids paying a heavy price due to Parliamentary discord and stubbornness that no-one cares about. The Spanish people have not given any member of this House the right to consider that they are not responsible for what affects everyone.

So, Honourable Members, rejecting this agreement and forcing new elections equates, in the current circumstances, to frivolously confessing that it doesn't matter a jot that Spain needs a new Budget or that the present Budget needs extending; that it doesn't matter a jot whether Spain maintains its credit or has to pay for losing this credit; that it doesn't matter a jot whether the unemployed see their chances of finding a work become a distant hope; in short, that it doesn't matter a jot whether pensioners see their pensions revised.

Since I do not believe that anyone would dare to maintain such an argument, I trust that we can all reflect on the consequences of our decisions, because they are consequences which, it would seem, no-one wants but which will inevitably come to pass, Honourable Members, if this stalemate persists. And new elections, the third in a year, will not resolve this because, moreover, they will come too late. The ballot box in December will not be able to repair the lack of a Budget, or breached commitments with Europe, or the financing of the regional governments, or the damage to our growth and job creation outlook.

Honourable Members of Parliament,

Not having a government has its cost; there will be a heavy price to pay and this will have to be met by all the people of Spain.

I will draw to a close now. The least we can offer the Spanish people is a serious response. We are all under an obligation to reflect before placing Spain in an irreversible situation. Spain needs a swift solution, it needs to respond to the pressing challenges it faces and harness the positive outlook that still prevails for the coming years.

Our first intention must be to unite to achieve what is best for us; that is, ensure what we already have, improve it as far as possible, maintain as fast a rate of job creation as possible, harness our opportunities and not betray the confidence the world still places in us.

For all of the above reasons, Honourable Members, I once again ask for the confidence of this House. I ask for an agreement that provides Spain with the government that the Spanish people need, who have entrusted us with that task and are calling us to respond to.

That is all, Madam Speaker, Honourable Members. Thank you very much.