SPAIN: Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he foresees economic growth in 2014

Record ID: 859404

  • Title: SPAIN: Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he foresees economic growth in 2014
  • Date: 6th November 2012
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 6, 2012) (REUTERS) CROWDS OF PROTESTERS OUTSIDE LA PRINCESA HOSPITAL CHANTING PROTESTER WITH PLACARDS READING "NO" PROTESTERS WITH BANNER POLICE ARRIVING PROTESTERS CHANTING POLICE ASKING PROTESTERS FOR IDENTIFICATION / DEMONSTRATOR ASKING POLICE TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF AND POLICE SHOWING HIS BADGE PROTESTER IN WHEELCHAIR CHANTING AND RAISING ARMS CROWDS OF PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PACO, HEALTHCARE WORKER, SAYING: "For the population this implies losing quality (of care) and all of this will lead to privatisation to take away from us the labs, emergency and many things." PROTESTERS CHANTING POLICE MOVING PROTESTERS AWAY AND TRYING TO MAKE ROOM FOR CARS TO PASS BY VARIOUS OF CARS STUCK ON ROAD AS PROTESTERS BLOCK ROAD PROTESTER BANGING TOPS OF POTS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS ON ROAD POLICE BLOCKING ROADS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNERS AND CHANTING
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • City:
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA130TORLTXBEQC2Y1AER3ZI0D9
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in a radio interview on Tuesday (November 6) that he expects Spain's economy to grow in 2014 and that one of the main doubts hanging over the potential request for aid is whether European Central Bank plans to buy the country's bonds would bring its debt costs down.

    "The problem is not only the conditions but how much the premium will decrease because if this only serves to keep the premium at 400 and something and it doesn't drop to 200, then it is evident it's not the same. We also have to look at what the conditions will be and then guarantee the support of all the European Union countries," he said on Radio Cope on Tuesday morning.
    He said that a more reasonable level for Spain's key spread between the yield on its ten-year bond compared with German benchmark bunds would be around 200 basis points. On Tuesday it stood around 435 basis points.
    Conditions over a potential bailout were still being studied, he said, adding that a lack of financing was the Spanish economy's biggest problem.
    As austerity bite, protests around Spain are a daily occurrence.
    On Tuesday healthcare workers at Madrid's La Princesa hospital protested for a second consecutive day against reforms in the health sector they say will lead to job cuts and a decline in the quality of care as parts of the sector are outsourced to private companies and their budgets are slashed.

    "For the population this implies losing quality (of care) and all of this will lead to privataisation to take away from us the labs, emergency and many things," said Paco a healthcare worker at La Princesa hospital who joined at least 1000 of his colleagues to protest outside the hospital.
    Despite promises to not touch the welfare state before an election in November last year, Rajoy's conservatives say they have been forced into a U-turn on health and education and must save 10 billion euros ($13.14 billion) this year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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