“We’ve gone from fear to suffering”

Following his party’s trouncing in the November general elections, which saw power in most of the country pass into the hands of the Popular Party (PP), Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba says that the government is already suffering the consequences of its tough spending cuts and labor reform policies. He points to the recent regional election results in Andalusia and Asturias, where the PP’s vote was lower than expected. He interprets those results as the first signs of a process of “slow recovery” for the Socialists.

Question. Three days after the general elections you said to EL PAÍS: “I am worried about what the right wing will do now that it has near absolute power.” How would you assess the current situation?

Answer. I am more worried than before. We have gone from fear to suffering. We have gone from hope to a deep pessimism. This government is implementing policies too quickly, it is improvising, and these measures will have an irreversible effect on this country. If you sack teachers today, you are going to affect the education of children for one or more generations. The future of these children is being decided now; it’s not going to help them if the next government employs more teachers. Another example: the labor reforms are seriously affecting workers’ rights, and introducing changes that mean a break with the way that we have built consensus in our society. Nobody has been consulted about these changes — not the opposition, the labor unions, civil society... no one. We are seeing what I feared: Rajoy has interpreted an absolute majority as giving him the right to do whatever he wants.

Q. To what extent is the government obliged to take measures to clear up the mess that the Socialists left behind?

A. The government is using that argument to justify its measures, but it isn’t true. Rajoy was unable to explain in Brussels that the overspending of the regional governments was due to the economy grinding to a halt, with the resulting shortfall in revenue. The central government was able to generate revenue through corporate tax, but the regions couldn’t, because they have little room to maneuver with regard to tax policy. Rather than explain that, and try to negotiate a deal that took this into account, Rajoy put us in the same boat as Greece — I am not being disrespectful to Greece when I say that. Rajoy’s move undermined international confidence in Spain. This policy of blaming us, aside from being false — just look at the state of Valencia’s economy, where the Popular Party has governed for 17 years — is also undermining our credibility.

Q. What is your assessment of the Argentinean government’s decision to renationalize YPF?

A. This is a terrible decision for everybody. For Repsol, obviously, and for Spain — but also for Argentina. I think that the move will seriously undermine Argentina’s standing as far as the international investment community is concerned, and that the country will pay for this in the long run.

Q. If you were in power, would you pull Spain’s troops out of Afghanistan ahead of schedule?

A. I wouldn’t do anything in Afghanistan without first talking it through properly with our allies in that mission.

Q. Do you agree with your fellow Socialist Party colleague Patxi López, the head of the Basque regional government, that ETA prisoners should now be moved to prisons in the Basque Country as a way to move the peace process along?

A. I support this government’s anti-terrorism strategy. But I also understand that López is reflecting the views of many people in the Basque Country when he calls for the prisoners to be moved closer to their families.

Q. Do you still believe that the goal of reducing the deficit to three percent of GDP should be put off for two years?

A. During the election campaign I said that the objective of 4.4 percent for 2012 could not be met, and that we should negotiate with Brussels. I was called a traitor, but in the end, this is what happened. I do not believe that we can reach three percent by the end of 2013. The other day, I read an article in the Financial Times saying the same. We are now seeing Italy raising the question. I believe that we need a Marshall Plan to kickstart growth in Europe. This is what François Hollande, the Socialist Party candidate in France, is saying. The government’s current strategy will simply deepen the depression we are in.