Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party leader.He became Leader of the People's Party in 2004 and Prime Minister in 2011 following the People's Party landslide victory in that year's general election becoming the sixth President of the Spanish Government. The party lost its majority in the 2015 general election, but after that election ended in deadlock, a second election in 2016 enabled Rajoy to be reelected Prime Minister as head of a minority government. Rajoy was a Minister under the José María Aznar administration, occupying different leading roles in different Ministries between 1996 and 2003, and he also was the Deputy Prime Minister between 2000 and 2003. He was the Leader of the Opposition between 2004 and 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government.
Rajoy's first term was heavily marked by the Spanish financial crisis and oversaw a major restructuring of the Spanish financial system as well as a major labour reform. The financial crisis peaked with a bailout of the Spanish banking system in June 2012. Unemployment in Spain peaked at 27% in 2012, which led to an initial drop of the People's Party in the polls, which was aggravated by the revelations of a series of corruption cases that seriously damaged the party's reputation. This, among other factors, led to a profound shift in the Spanish party system, with the rise of new political parties from the left and the right: Podemos and Citizens.
The 2015 general election led to a parliamentary configuration that made the formation of a government very difficult; as a result, Spain was without a government for over six months and new elections were held in June 2016. Rajoy was finally appointed Prime Minister with the support of the Citizens party and the abstention of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. Rajoy's second term was marked by economic recovery and a drop in unemployment and the challenge of stagnating salaries. Rajoy also oversaw the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis marked by the Catalan independence referendum of 2017 and the Catalan unilateral declaration of independence on 27 October 2017 that led to the imposition of direct rule in Catalonia.
At 14 years and 146 days, Rajoy was the longest-serving Spanish politician in the Government of Spain since the Spanish transition to democracy, having held ministerial offices continuously from 1996 to 2004 and from 2011 to 2018.
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“The decisions are made in the moment they are made.”
9 May, 2012
As President, 2012
Source: El Diario http://www.eldiario.es/canariasahora/economia/decisiones-toman-momento-tomarse_0_2799957.html
3 July, 2007
As Opposition Leader, 2007
Source: Diario de Sesiones del Congreso http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/PopUpCGI?CMD=VERDOC&CONF=BRSPUB.cnf&BASE=PUW8&PIECE=PUW8&DOCS=1-1&FMT=PUWTXDTS.fmt&OPDEF=Y&QUERY=%40FECH%26gt%3B%3D20070703+%26+%40FECH%26lt%3B%3D20070704+Y+CDP200707030269.CODI.#1
1 February, 2011
As Opposition Leader, 2011
Source: Público http://www.publico.es/espana/medidas-crear-he-escrito-y.html
“Roads must be used by cars and airplanes must fly in airports.”
16 March, 2016
As President, 2016
Source: La Sexta Noticias http://www.lasexta.com/noticias/nacional/aplastante-logica-rajoy-carreteras-tienen-que-coches-aeropuertos-tienen-que-salir-aviones_2016031600396.html
“«Tomorrow I have the pain of the parade.”
1 October, 2008, Private comment captured by the microphones during the closing of the XIII Interparliamentary Meeting of the Popular Party
As Opposition Leader, 2008
Source: El País https://elpais.com/elpais/2008/10/11/actualidad/1223713020_850215.html
29 September, 2009, in a meeting in Dos Hermanas, Seville, referring to the tax increase announced by the Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
As Opposition Leader, 2009
Source: Diario ADN http://www.elpais.com/audios/espana/lapsus/Rajoy/ETA/gran/nacion/csrcsrpor/20070611csrcsrnac_6/Aes/
“Spain is a great country which make things and have Spanish people.”
17 May, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.es/2015/05/17/rajoy-espana-tiene-espanoles_n_7300938.html
“The measures we take harm people, but they are imperative.”
12 November, 2012
As President, 2012
Source: 20 minutos http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1651430/0/encuentro/rajoy-rousseff/espana-brasil/
“What we have done, which you did not do, is to deceive people.”
2 March, 2016
As President, 2016
Source: El Mundo http://www.elmundo.es/f5/2016/03/02/56d6e71d268e3e720f8b45b6.html
“The most important thing we can do for you is what you can do for yourselves”
8 November, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: RT https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/190886-rajoy-discurso-podais-hacer-vosotros
“This is not like the water that falls from the sky, without knowing exactly why.”
30 October, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: Canal 24h https://twitter.com/calcosares/status/638381300873867264
4 February, 2013, during a press conference with Angela Merkel, when asked about the Bárcenas Case.
As President, 2013
Source: El País https://politica.elpais.com/politica/2013/02/04/actualidad/1359990966_366780.html
“We are feelings and have human beings.”
25 February, 2016
As President, 2016
Source: El País http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/24/videos/1456319939_010865.html
“A glass is a glass and a plate is a plate”
24 September, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: El Mundo http://www.elmundo.es/enredados/2015/09/24/5603d50222601d4c0a8b4584.html
“Exporting is positive because you sell what you produce.”
7 October, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: Cadena SER http://cadenaser.com/programa/2015/10/07/la_ventana/1444208611_462223.html
“It is one thing to be supportive, and another to be in exchange for nothing.”
30 June, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: Cadena COPE https://twitter.com/cope_es/status/615778637678129156
“A historical figure gives up leaving an unpayable debt.”
2 June, 2014, after the announcement of the abdication of King Juan Carlos I.
As President, 2014
Source: El Confidencial http://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2014-06-02/rajoy-renuncia-una-figura-historica-que-deja-una-impagable-deuda_139969/
8 March, 2016
As President, 2016
Source: El País http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/08/videos/1457457914_756232.html
“Sometimes the best decision is to make no decision, which is also to make a decision.”
13 February, 2013.
As President, 2013
Source: Libertad Digital http://www.libertaddigital.com/espana/politica/2013-02-13/rajoy-es-incomprensible-que-va-a-hacer-rubalcaba-hasta-2015-1276482202/
“We do what we can do means what exactly means, that we do what we can do.”
26 June, 2017
As President, 2017
Source: Vozópuli http://www.vozpopuli.com/espana/Rajoy-Conteste-senor-Barcenas-telefono_2_1048115186.html
“¿Do you think before speaking or do you speak after thinking?”
13 June, 2017
As President, 2017
Source: Telecinco https://www.telecinco.es/informativos/mocion-censura-mariano-rajoy-lapsus-pifias-trabalenguas-pp-partido-popular-presidente-gobierno-espana-podemos-pablo-iglesias_2_2386680191.html
16 June, 2017
As President, 2017
Source: Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.es/2017/06/13/rajoy-cuanto-peor-mejor-para-todos-y-cuanto-peor-para-todos-me_a_22139843/
“Neither Hitler nor Stalin have been named persons non grata in Pontevedra.”
24 February, 2016, after having been named person non grata in Pontevedra -his place of birth.
As President, 2016
Source: 20 Minutos http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2681078/0/entrevista-rajoy-espejo-publico/
“«I like Catalans because they do things.”
29 October, 2012, in a promotional video.
As President, 2012
Source: El Plural https://www.elplural.com/2012/10/29/rajoy-me-gustan-los-catalanes-porque-hacen-cosas
11 July, 2007, elected blunder number one claimed by Spanish politicians by the British newspaper The Local http://www.thelocal.es/galleries/news/top-ten-spanish-political-gaffes.
As Opposition Leader, 2007
Source: El País http://www.elpais.com/audios/espana/lapsus/Rajoy/ETA/gran/nacion/csrcsrpor/20070611csrcsrnac_6/Aes/
“As Galileo said, the movement always accelerates when it is going to stop.”
16 June, 2017
As President, 2017
Source: Público http://www.publico.es/tremending/2017/06/13/mocion-de-censura-ha-roto-rajoy-las-leyes-de-la-fisica-en-su-discurso-hablando-de-galileo-o-tiene-la-maldita-razon/
6 May, 2014
As President, 2014
Source: El Mundo http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/05/06/53688afde2704e95318b4570.html
“Spain is a great nation and Spaniards very Spanish and much Spanish.”
21 May, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: La Información http://noticias.lainformacion.com/politica/gobierno/24-m-rajoy-espana-es-una-gran-nacion-y-los-espanoles-muy-espanoles-y-mucho-espanoles_XWkUaFcEVXqsWgtUvuT247/
“To me, being president of the country is awesome.”
3 December, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: 20 Minutos http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2620020/0/mariano-rajoy/bertin-osborne/frases-entrevista/
“I work a day 12 hours 40 minutes.”
3 December, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: 20 Minutos http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2620020/0/mariano-rajoy/bertin-osborne/frases-entrevista/
“«From the Prestige come a few little glazes with the appearance of plasticine.”
5 June 2002, statement of the Prestige situation, a shipwreck on the coasts of Galicia that produced a massive oil spill.
As Spokesman of the Government of Spain, 2002Á
Source: Libertad Digital https://tv.libertaddigital.com/videos/2013-11-12/rajoy-en-2002-del-prestige-salen-unos-pequenos-hilitos-con-aspecto-de-plastilina-6040740.html
“It is the neighbor who chooses the mayor and it is the mayor who wants the neighbors the mayor.”
2 December, 2015
As President, 2015
Source: Party meeting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y4eb0mAikU
11 February 2007, during the presentation of María Dolores de Cospedal as candidate for the presidency of Castilla-La Mancha.
As Opposition Leader, 2007
Source: Libertad Digital http://www.libertaddigital.com/sociedad/rajoy-defiende-el-vino-ante-la-persecucion-del-gobierno-y-dice-que-no-permitire-un-cambio-en-la-ley-electoral-1276298775/
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