Rajoy and opposition leader Rubalcaba agree to find common ground on matters of state

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the leader of the opposition Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba on Wednesday agreed to renew the composition of key state institutions by the start of summer.

The agreement was reached in a meeting in the prime minister’s residence Moncola that last four hours, the longest between a premier and opposition leader since the restoration of democracy. The institutions whose directorates they agreed to overhaul by June include the Constitutional Court, the Court of Auditors, the state broadcaster RTVE and the office of the Ombudsman. “I believe we can unblock this situation in the next few months,” Rubalcaba said after the meeting.

The Socialist leader described his first face-to-face encounter with Rajoy in Moncloa since the Popular party took office at the end of last year as “honest and sincere.” The two agreed to forge a joint stance in matters of foreign policy, defense, and the fight against terrorism as “policies of state.”

Rubalcaba also reiterated his pledge to head a “useful opposition” to the conservative Popular party government, and agreed to work with the on the “structural reforms” Spain needs. “With two objectives: to improve competitiveness and to create employment and equity.”

The two also found common ground on Greece. “We form believe that Greece needs to be in the euro,” Rubalcaba said as he urged the European Union to find a “definitive solution” to the Hellenic country’s debt problems, which also represents problem for the “Spanish economy.”

But there were understandable differences, particularly as regards the labor reform introduced last week by Rajoy in the form of a decree. “We are deeply against (the decree), and will present amendments” to it in its passage through Congress, Rubalcaba said.

He also urged Rajoy to ask Brussels to agree to a revised timetable for the deficit targets Spain has committed itself to that is “compatible with growth and the creation of jobs.” “If we carry on adjusting, adjusting, adjusting, what we will achieve is to make the economy shrink and increase unemployment.”

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the leader of the opposition Alfredo Rubalcaba on Wednesday agreed to renew the composition of key state institutions by the start of summer.

The agreement was reached during a meeting in the prime minister's Moncloa residence that lasted four hours, the longest one-on-one session between a premier and opposition leader since the restoration of democracy.

The institutions whose directorates they agreed to overhaul by June include the Constitutional Court, the Court of Auditors, the state broadcaster RTVE and the office of the Ombudsman.

“I believe we can unblock this situation in the next few months,” Rubalcaba said after the meeting. However, the party leaders did not discuss nominations for these institutional posts.

The Socialist Party (PSOE) leader described his first face-to-face encounter with Rajoy in Moncloa since the Popular Party took office at the end of last year as “honest and sincere.” The two agreed to forge a joint stance in matters of foreign policy, defense and the fight against terrorism as “policies of state.”

Rubalcaba also reiterated his pledge to head up a “useful opposition” force to the conservative Popular Party government. “The PSOE is willing to collaborate with the government to find a way out of the crisis,” he said, such as the “structural reforms” Spain needs such as the recently approved restructuring of the financial sector. “With two objectives: to improve competitiveness and to create employment and equity,” the former interior minister under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said.

The two also found common ground on Greece. “We firmly believe that Greece needs to be in the euro,” Rubalcaba said as he urged the European Union to find a “definitive solution” to the country's debt problems, which also represent a problem for the “Spanish economy.”

He also urged Rajoy to ask Brussels to agree to a revised timetable for the deficit targets Spain has committed itself to that is compatible with growth and the creation of jobs. “If we carry on adjusting, adjusting, adjusting, what we will achieve is to make the economy shrink and increase unemployment.”

But there were understandable areas of difference, particularly as regards the far-reaching labor reforms introduced last week by Rajoy in the form of a decree. “We are deeply against \[the decree\], and will present amendments” to it in its passage through Congress, Rubalcaba said. Earlier in the day in Congress, Rubalcaba had crossed swords with Rajoy on the reform that makes firing cheaper for companies.