Zapatero to discuss economic crisis in a meeting with Rajoy today
The Spanish President, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will meet the leader of the opposition, Mariano Rajoy (PP) today in the Moncloa Palace. It is expected that Zapatero will give Rajoy a ‘wide range of information’ on the economic situation and public accounts. Speaking in Brussels yesterday Zapatero said that he believed it was ‘his duty’ to provide information. However, he also made it clear that he would not be asking Rajoy for help and wanted to end unfounded rumours about the state of the Spanish economy and comparisons with Greece which were damaging Spain’s image in markets around the world. Zapatero is due to appear before a press conference following the meeting with Rajoy today.

Rajoy has accused the government of following economic policies similar to those which have led the Greek economy to near bankruptcy.

It is expected that today’s meeting will focus on two main issues:

• the aid package for Greece (costing Spain 9,792 million euros).
  

  Zapatero is looking for Rajoy’s support because the application of the aid package goes beyond current legislation and

• the restructuring of Spanish savings banks. Zapatero wants agreement on the possible merger of the savings banks, although he warned yesterday that the banks had their own internal procedures and democratic processes, ruling out direct government intervention.

Although the two leaders have not met for over a year and a half (the last meeting took place in December 2008) Zapatero stressed yesterday the fact that he and Rajoy had spoken on various occasions and ‘over the last few months quite frequently’.