IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned last week that Spain shouldn’t pour its energies exclusively into cutting expenditure but should also focus on economic restructuring. This must have been galling for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has, even his harshest critics would grudgingly acknowledge, maintained a commitment not only to reducing the deficit but to introducing accompanying reforms designed to generate growth and boost employment. The figures show that the deficit isn’t going down and employment isn’t going up, so while Mr Rajoy’s commitment may not be in question, his delivery certainly is. He, of course, argues that these things take time – something with … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: Reform and recovery
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Rajoy’s difficult year
A year after he took office on December 21, 2011, many Spaniards would be forgiven for asking: who is Mariano Rajoy? His first 12 months in power have been so full of contradictions that a clear image of the Spanish prime minister is yet to emerge. His conservative Partido Popular (PP) has one of the biggest congressional majorities Spain has seen. And with it, his government has embarked on one of the boldest reform programs of the democratic era, with opponents frequently accusing it of authoritarianism. Yet still Rajoy is seen as hesitant and equivocal, a politician being led by events and EU orders, rather than leading his people. “Mariano Rajoy governs without his own voice, … [Read more...] about Rajoy’s difficult year