ECONOMIC CRISIS
Defiant Rajoy warns he will push ahead with reforms “every Friday”
Comments coincide with protest against spending cuts
Opposition leader calls PM “last of the Mohicans” of austerity
EL PAÍS Madrid 29 ABR 2012 - 20:57 CET
A protest in Madrid on Sunday against cuts to spending on education and healthcare. / ÁLVARO GARCÍA
As tens of thousands of people across Spain took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the government’s education and health care spending cuts, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy issued a defiant statement saying he would continue with his reform agenda.
Speaking at the Popular Party’s Madrid regional congress, Rajoy told delegates: “There will be reforms announced this Friday, and every Friday after that, and they will be major reforms.”
He continued: “I understand perfectly. A lot of people cannot understand the decisions that I am taking at the moment. But the problem is the crisis, unemployment, the recession, and disordered public finances. We have to make structural changes and to take root and branch measures.”
The Rajoy government has introduced stinging austerity measures in its first three months in office. Unemployment has continued to rise in Spain, and is at a euro-zone high of 24.4 percent. More than half of Spaniards under 25 years old are jobless. On Friday Rajoy announced a new set of tax hikes to come into effect next year, saying he had “no alternative.”
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