Madrid mayor fails to secure refinancing deal with Prime Minister
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón was looking for agreement on capital's 7.1-billion-euro debt
Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement about refinancing the capital's 7.1-billion-euro debt ? the highest for a Spanish city.
The mayor, who met with the prime minister for 90 minutes, said at a news conference afterwards that he wanted to refinance 257 million euros, the amount of debt that is set to mature this year.
In September, the central government, as part of its belt-tightening measures, put a cap on the extent to which municipalities could take on more debt.
Madrid City Hall spends 12 million euros a day, but brings in just 11.3 million euros. Manuel Chaves, the minister in charge of regional issues, said Wednesday that the government cannot make exceptions for any municipality.
