The deficit and national debt affect each other. When Spain had a surplus in 2007, the national debt was 36.3% of our GDP.
The crises, cleaning up the financial sector and wishy-washy politicians have pushed the deficit higher, and now the national debt is at a dangerous level. In 2013, tax payers will owe almost as much in taxes as they earn in wages (95% of GDP), we will have to take out 207 billion euros in loans (12.2% more than this year) and pay back 159 billion on debt issued in recent years. The interest payments on that debt total to 38.59 billion euros.
These are record numbers that all of us will have to help pay for, which is a good enough reason to demand that the government undertake reforms and make decisions that lighten this unsustainable burden.