Mariano Rajoy says he does not "intend to raise taxes in this term of office"

Telecinco, Madrid

Having recently arrived from Malaga, where the 25th Spain-France Summit had been held, Mariano Rajoy expressed a few words of gratitude to the French President, François Hollande, who "has behaved very kindly towards Spain".

The President of the Government said that he remarked to François Hollande that it is his intention to enjoy good relations with the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, and with the North American country, since "we share values" and "we have common interests, such as security, foreign policy and defence, as well as trade relations".

Brexit

Whilst acknowledging that he was "never" in favour of Brexit, he accepted that "the will of the British people must be respected" and explained that "the Government of Spain will be constructive in all its relations with the United Kingdom", because it wants "to have a fair relationship" and for "things to be done in a reasonable manner".

In his opinion, the most important aspect of any negotiation are the people involved. "My main priority is to guarantee the rights of the Spanish people and of other Europeans who live in Great Britain, as well as those of British citizens that live in Spain".

The future of the EU

After stressing that "Europe is in very good health", Mariano Rajoy recalled that the European Union is "the leading economic power in the world", "the only place in the world" with a "great welfare system" and "a space for liberty, democracy and human rights". In short, "Europe has become the best region in the world, where everyone wants to come to and no-one wants to leave".

After defining himself as "pro-European", he added, "I will defend the unity of Europe, I will defend greater integration and I advocate taking further steps to continue developing a region that is still the best in the world, and by some considerable margin".

The President of the Government also referred to the decisive event that the EU will hold in the Italian capital in March. "The Rome Summit is important. Let's see if we are able to send out a positive message on the future and talk well about Europe".

Budget for 2017

Mariano Rajoy pointed out that it is his intention to "govern" and not call new elections because "this would be tremendously irresponsible".

He explained that the goal is to approve the Budget for 2017 and, for that reason, "we will give ground where we need to", he added. On this issue, the President of the Government recalled that we all have "a great responsibility". I have this responsibility as the President of the Government and president of the party that received the most votes, but I cannot govern alone and hence the other parties also have a responsibility".

Mariano Rajoy commented that "the most advanced negotiations" are with Ciudadanos and with the Canary Island Coalition, although nothing has definitively been decided on as yet. He remarked that he had also spoken with the Basque Nationalist Party, adding that an agreement is "a long way off" with the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]

Key issues for Catalonia

As regards Catalonia, Mariano Rajoy reiterated his position. "While I am President of the Government, there is no way that national sovereignty will be lost. And whatever Spain is to be will be decided on by the Spanish people themselves".

He explained that there are four "key" issues, issues on which he is "prepared to talk and negotiate". Firstly, "everything that is important to the people", in other words, regional financing, long-term care, pensions and demographic problems. He added that all of these issues were discussed at the recent Conference of Regional Presidents, a meeting that the President of the Regional Government of Catalonia "chose not to attend".

The second issue to tackle is ensuring that the institutions "represent everyone and not just some of the people". In other words, he added, the Regional Government of Catalonia cannot "only represent those in favour of independence", because "there are a great many people there who are not in favour of this".

Thirdly, an attempt would be made to do away "with the division that these five years of the separatist process has generated in Catalan society".

Fourthly, added Mariano Rajoy, "reasonable people" must "do battle" to do away with the dependence of the Regional Government of Catalonia on "a group of extremists" such as the CUP [Popular Unity Candidature]. In his opinion, this is both "important" and "worthwhile".

Public consultation in Catalonia

When asked about the hypothetical public consultation on sovereignty, the President of the Government responded that he is not in the habit of "getting ahead of events" and, for the time being, "no-one has called a referendum nor is there any evidence that one will be held".

At any event, Mariano Rajoy added that "at present it is impossible for a separation process from the European Union to be held", and hence Catalonia would have to leave the Eurozone, the EU and the international treaties. "In other words, become poor by law".

According to the President of the Government, this would be "foolish", and hence he called for common sense and wisdom to prevail, since "the government is prepared to sit down and talk, and look at what can build together".

Pensions and taxes

The President of the Government pointed out that "the two most important issues facing Spain" in the future are maintaining its pension system and its healthcare system. But, "this requires reforms" and these must be undertaken "jointly" because "this is not a decision that a government can take by majority".

Mariano Rajoy clarified that he has no "intention of raising taxes in this term of office", although "no decision has yet been taken", but "we obviously are not going to raise Personal Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax or Value Added Tax".

Courts

As regards the situation of Pedro Antonio Sánchez, President of the Region of Murcia, Mariano Rajoy opted for "erring" on the side of caution in order "not to be unfair". He also remarked that the presumption of innocence is "one of the most important human rights of our citizens".

When asked about the 'Nóos' affair, which was ruled on last week, President of the Government Rajoy posed a question: "What shall we say to all those people who have been acquitted after having been vilified, many of whom have been subject to the threat of many years in prison?" In his opinion, this is "the key question" and "the most important conclusion that we should all bear in mind".

As regards the ruling itself, the President of the Government underlined that "we should respect the decisions of the courts" because "this is a democracy".