Socialists call on PP to show a "little patriotism"

While the main Spanish political parties found common ground in agreement that the financial woes besetting Ireland are not comparable to Spain, the Popular Party (PP) took little time to lay the "fundamental problem" of the country's own economic concerns at the feet of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

"The problem in Ireland has been caused by the banks," said Socialist Party spokesman Marcelino Iglesias, adding that the financial system in Spain is "resistant, thanks to the control and regulation" of the Bank of Spain.

María Dolores de Cospedal, the PP secretary general, said that "in Ireland the problem appears to have been its own financial system and fortunately, it seems that Spain finds itself in a clearer situation because the problem in Spain is the lack of confidence in the government." De Cospedal said Zapatero's admission in Congress last week that Spain could face a new recession was "very serious."

Iglesias, speaking after a meeting of the PSOE executive committee, called on the PP to "avoid making statements that are detrimental to our country in a difficult moment. We ask [the PP] for a little patriotism."