Prime Minister Rajoy declares PP ‘the party of moderates’ in swipe against rivals

SPAIN’S Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, was in Toledo on Saturday October 17 to speak at a meeting and he took the opportunity to defend his government ahead of the general elections in December.

Rajoy spoke about ‘radicals’ on either side of the political spectrum with his comments mostly aimed toward Ciudadanos, the rising pro-market and centrist movement, and Podemos, the anti-capitalist party looking to oust the ruling government in December.

“We are the party of the moderate and reasonable majority in the face of radicals and extremists,” Rajoy told the gathering in Toledo.

“We are… the party of the Spanish centre right, a party born with Spanish democracy and not a quarter of an hour ago,” he added.

Rajoy emphasised the longevity of the ruling Popular Party (PP), which began in 1977, to underline his campaign message. He revealed the new slogan, ‘promise kept, from crisis to recovery’, and maintained that the PP was ‘the safe bet which knows how to arrange things’.

The challenges facing the PP are credible, however, with Ciudadanos polling 21.5 per cent amongst voters. The Socialist Party represent the prime minister’s main opposition at 23.5 per cent with the PP at 23.4 per cent at present.

The harsh economic situation in recent years has been seen as the worst since the end of Franco’s regime and the country’s return to democracy in 1975.

Prime Minister Rajoy, however, sought to position the PP as the ‘greatest party’ in Spain and not ‘the product of a debating circle or media operation’.