Cospedal: Castilla-La Mancha deficit is "dramatic"

The incoming premier of Castilla-La Mancha, María Dolores de Cospedal, has called for an urgent meeting with Economy Minister Elena Salgado after apparently finding out that the central region's public deficit was more than double the ceiling set by the Socialist central government.

"I've just sent a letter to [Salgado] to ask for an urgent meeting and explain a dramatic situation," Cospedal said in an interview with Onda Cero radio station.

Cospedal, who is also the secretary general of the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), said the financial situation of the region is even worse than indicated before the PP took over from the Socialists after winning elections held in May.

She said the deficit indicated for this year for the region of 1.7 percent was already above the 1.3 percent set by the central government for the full year. A closer examination of the situation showed that the shortfall could be "well over" 4 percent. "The figures we found were not the ones we were given," she claimed.

Just before taking over in the region, PP officials accused the outgoing government of having left the region in "total ruin," with insufficient funds to pay the wages of some 70,000 civil servants and owing some two billion euros to suppliers, mainly freelance workers and small- and medium-sized companies.

After a Socialist-led coalition lost regional elections in Catalonia last year, the incoming administration also announced a much bigger shortfall in the region's finances than had been previously acknowledged.

The central government's ability to keep regional spending in check has been one of the main concerns of the financial markets.

The government managed to narrow the country's public deficit from 11.1 percent of GDP in 2009 to 9.2 percent last year after a strong performance by the central administration offset the failure of some regions to meet their targets.