PM calls on PP leader to "act responsibly"

In a bid to head off panic caused by opposition claims that some regions in the country are on the verge of bankruptcy, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero telephoned Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy to ask him to be "responsible and prudent" in making such claims.

Wednesday's revelation of Zapatero's phone call to the opposition leader over the weekend emerged on the same day that Farmaindustria, the Spanish pharmaceutical association, announced that the regions owe some 5.2 billion eurosto companies for medicines supplied to public hospitals.

Economy Minister Elena Salgado also asked Rajoy on Tuesday to call on his party subordinates to be responsible in their claims over the regions' finances. The government's plea comes a week after Vicente Toledo, the PP secretary general in Castilla-La Mancha, told reporters that the party is going to inherit a "totally broke" region from premier José María Barreda, who lost the May 22 race to María Dolores de Cospedal, breaking 10 years of Socialist rule. Tirado said that there was no money in Castilla-La Mancha's coffers to pay 70,000 public workers next month.

According to sources, Rajoy told Salgado that he cannot take responsibility for what his subordinates claim. But during his conversation with Zapatero, which took place on Sunday, he expressed concern about the drops in government revenue during the first months of 2010. The PP has been totally opposed to raising taxes, despite warnings from Brussels that Spain and other European nations in crisis must increase their tax base.

In its report on the health debt, Farmaindustria said companies have to wait an average of 410 days to get paid, while in five regions the delay is as long as 600 days. Andalusia holds the largest debt at 1.2 billion euros, followed by Valencia and Madrid, at 957 million euros and 700 million euros respectively.