"We have managed to reduce unemployment by 637,000 in just a year", says Mariano Rajoy

2017.12.13

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Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

In response to a question from the Spokesperson for the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party] in the Lower House, Margarita Robles, who enquired after the balance of the first 13 months of this legislature, the President of the Government described it as "reasonable" and based this assertion on a series of facts and figures: growth above 3%, recovery of all the GDP lost during the crisis, export growth at an annual rate of 9% and record tourist numbers.

Mariano Rajoy added that "we are continuing to reduce the public deficit, and if things go as normal we should exit the excessive deficit procedure next year and also start to reduce the public deficit".

As regards employment, the "main concern of the people of Spain", he underlined that therePool Moncloa/César P. Sendra are 637,000 more people in work than a year ago; the rate of youth unemployment has fallen by six points and the number of long-term unemployed has fallen by 555,000 people.

He also highlighted that the risk of poverty and exclusion rate is falling and that long-term care benefits are at an "all-time high".

In addition to all these basic economic figures, Mariano Rajoy added the defence of national unity and that the Constitution has been upheld in relation to the situation caused in Catalonia to his assessment.

Constitution and dialogue

The President of the Government encouraged the MP for Unidos Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, who asked whether the Constitution is upheld in Spain, to appeal to the Constitutional Court to report those cases in which he feels it is not upheld, since he would be failing his obligation by not doing so.

At any event, Mariano Rajoy declared that "whether the Constitution is upheld or not is not down to you or I but to the Constitutional Court", as "stated in the Constitution itself".

IPool Moncloa/César P. Sendran response to the MP for Partit Demòcrata Català [Democratic Party of Catalonia], Carles Campuzano, who referred to the need to establish dialogue between Catalonia and Spain, the President of the Government expressed his willingness to maintain "normal and civilised dialogue, as takes place in all democracies".

In fact, Mariano Rajoy reminded him that since the approval of the Constitution in 1978, "there has always been a great deal of dialogue in Spain within the bounds of the law", but "this stopped being the case when certain governors decided that the Constitution did not govern in their region, that it did not apply, and nor did the Statute of Autonomy, they invented a parallel legality, they stopped the opposition from talking and also ignored the rulings of the courts".

As a result of these events, it was necessary to trigger Article 155, which is contained in the Constitution, in order to "restore the primacy of the law and the rights of individuals, as well as to avoid the law of the jungle prevailing".

Non official translation