The government is getting out all its guns in hopes of winning upcoming elections in Europe and in regional and local elections that will be held later in 2015. The macro views and stability program that Ministers De Guindos and Montoro unveiled yesterday was the biggest performance from the Peoples' Party in a long time.
The party's strategy is fueled by election fervor and Rajoy's anxiety about losing credibility in and outside of Spain. And another message is buried beneath their "prudence" in delaying the bulk of job creation and tax cuts until after elections: reforms will only be finished if voters put the PP back into office. In fact, the executive has already said that the recovery will not be finished until 2017. Only then will the economy grow by 2.8% and the national deficit shrink by 1.1% and the unemployment rate contract to 19.8%. Also, the national debt will be 101.6% of GDP this year but only 98.5% in 2016. Even if the details about how to ensure a recovery are not clear, it is evident that improvement is on the way and that ratings agencies agree.
But there is still a lot of work to do and plenty of risk as the EU warns about slowing growth in late 2014. The government should not lose focus on reforms as it starts to work on its re-election campaign, because the nation needs action and a recovery.
