Statements by President of the Government prior to inauguration of the Legal Congress of the Malaga Bar Association

Torremolinos

Q.- …without any guarantee of stability?

President of the Government.- Good day. The question you have just asked me is precisely as to whether I would be prepared or not - I say this in case anyone didn't hear the question - to accept the abstention of the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party] without any guarantee of stability. What I would like to say is that - I have been saying this for some time now, and I believe this is just pure common sense, Spain needs a government and it needs one urgently.

The goal is, and this is the main goal, to bed down the economic recovery and to continue to create jobs. The latest figures to come out of the International Monetary Fund, just a few hours ago, are good for Spain, because our growth forecast for this year has increased, but they are also saying to us what the government already forewarned, which is that things won't go so well for us next year, and that makes it even more pressing to form a government.

We have now been operating as a caretaker government for almost nine months, and as a caretaker government you cannot take decisions that are important for the future of the people of Spain.

Since 21 December last year, I have maintained the same opinion; that is, I believe that the best thing would be to form a government that offers stability, security and certainty, and I proposed a coalition. If that is not possible, we would be prepared to consider any other option because the priority is to form a government.

I have tried to talk with the Socialist Party, which is necessary in order to form a government, during all these months. In fact, I stood for a vote of confidence, we were short by six votes and what I want is to enter into dialogue as soon as possible and talk absolutely frankly. My opposite number in this dialogue is Javier Fernández, because he is the person chosen by the Socialist Party to this end, as Pedro Sánchez was before and, as soon as I can, I will hold talks with him to see the Socialist Party's approach, but I believe we will need to give him some time. There is still time available, not much, but, I repeat, it would be foolish to hold new elections. That is the position I maintain.

Q.- President of the Government, what conditions will you impose on the PSOE?

President of the Government.- I am not going to impose any conditions. There will be no strings attached. At the last debate in the Lower House, I said that the best option is a coalition government; if they don't want that, then we can reach an agreement on seven or eight main issues, and I also mentioned what these seven or eight main issues were; and if not, we should at least be allowed to govern.

I am obviously not going to impose any conditions. I have read a lot… I see there is a great deal of speculation, but I am going to speak with Mr Fernández when he wishes and if he wishes, and the only thing I will say is that we need a government of Spain quickly and that I feel that going back to the ballot box again would be very foolish. I repeat, we are playing with the consolidation of our economic recovery and job creation.

Q.- In order to approve the 2017 Budget, the People's Party would also need more support aside from the abstention of the Socialist Party. Are you actively looking for this support to approve the Budget?

President of the Government.- No. In order to approve the Budget, an abstention would be sufficient. In other words, the Budget needs more votes in favour than against. But, in short, I believe that now is not the time to talk about the Budget; the pressing issue at this time is to form a government and we can then talk about the Budget and everything else.

Logically, the Budget is something very important and, moreover, we have other commitments with the European Union that need to be met. We are already taking certain decisions so that the regional governments can approve their own budgets and so that public services can operate normally. But, I repeat, what is pressing, and moreover, what is reasonable and sensible, is for us to have a government and we are not going to impose our demands on anyone; what we need to do is build and put the debates behind us, because we have had enough debates and electoral campaigns, and we need to allow Spain to enter into a period of normality. I repeat, that is what common sense dictates and that is what I am going to try to do. That is my obligation.

Thank you very much.