Do you have to be a politician to talk all day about something without treating it seriously? In the debate about the state of the nation, neither Zapatero nor opposition leader Mariano Rajoy contribute a single proposal that could improve the economy, which is the central issue for Spanish citizens right now. In Rajoy?s case, he lowered his speech, communicating a serious tone and pointing out the lack of faith in Zapatero, but was never able to beat the president during the debate.
Conscious of what happened to David Cameron (the UK prime minister who almost lost at the polls by revealing his government?s plan), Rajoy is keeping quiet and waiting on an absolute majority.
Zapatero limited himself to a few benign statements. He said that he will think about spending limits for regional government, yet he?s no longer controlling them. And he will offer significant help to people whose houses are about to be foreclosed.
Without firming up anything, he promised to help small and medium-sized business deal with widespread defaults. He assured that the reforms are on the way and that he should carry them out.
That said, he has manipulated and watered down most of the reforms and can take credit for little more than fiscal consolidation. Zapatero?s country needs more than this, and few can afford to wait on him. The advance election would at least ring a positive change in expectations.
Yesterday, their only arguments were that the PP is not proposing anything and that it has not made social cutbacks. But the government?s responsibility is in Zapatero?s hands, and his social legacy is already going for 5 million unemployed workers because he has put an atavistic emphasis on taxes.
We are facing competition from other countries and have to adapt ourselves to the System of Well-Being, fiscal policy, labor, etc. Because taxes over zero produce zero income.
Translated and Edited in English by Brandon Dyches y Jose L. De Haro (joseluisdeharo@eleconomista.es)
