In the second quarter Spanish public debt exceeded the limit that government officials had budgeted for the entire fiscal year. It was something that was expected to happen, as elEconomsita has reported on previously, but still signifies a major hurdle to the nation's economic recovery.
Midway through the year, the national debt has soared to over 942 billion euros, which is 17.6% more than last year. This number is 92.2% of GDP, and the goal for this year was 91%, confirming Rajoy's previous assertion that Spain would not trim its debt/GDP ratio until 2016.
Such a large national debt compromises Spain's future and will make it difficult to reduce the annual deficit. It also underscores the imbalance between the efforts strong efforts that the private sector is making to improve the economy and the weak indecisions that are plaguing the government and its reform packages.