The former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the King Emeritus on Wednesday, of whom he is "absolutely in favor" and whom he believes "is being treated in a way that he does not deserve." "Who doesn't make mistakes?" The former president has asked himself, who believes that the balance of his career is "enormously positive", since he "represented the interests of Spain with great dignity and made many efforts for the benefit of Spain".
For Rajoy, the former head of state "was able to convert Spain in a peaceful and orderly manner into a democracy" thanks to the fact that he "steered" the transition. "What happens is that now there are people who want democracy to be spoken ill of," he added.
The former chief executive spoke in this way during his speech at the last of the conferences 'Spain in the world in the face of the future: dialogues with the former presidents of the government' that were held yesterday and today at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Santander.
There he has positioned himself "absolutely in favor" of the Crown, "of the current king and the previous one", for representing an institution "very deeply rooted" in Spanish society and that "has provided stability, especially if we compare it with other regimes that have lasted a quarter of an hour", Rajoy pointed out, who does not believe that the Republic "has contributed great things" to the country. In addition, he has assured that Juan Carlos I was "very effective and never put a single hit" when the presidents of the Government asked him for something.
The former president has also shown himself "absolutely against" reforming the Constitution and the electoral law in his speech. In this sense, he has recalled that during his mandate he was accused of being "immobile" and has recognized it. "I have to say yes. I'm immobile and, since you have to be changing all day, well, well, I'll be a specimen", he joked.
And it is that he has questioned whether the reform of the Constitution "would be useful for something", because he "does not see" what needs to be changed or if it is time. In fact, he has said that this text is "the meeting point behind which most Spaniards were", in addition to the fact that it was "fundamental for Spain" and thanks to this the country "has lived through the best 40 years of its history". In his opinion, "the only thing it has is the disloyalty of some" to the Constitution, and that is something that cannot be reformed. He also believes that it is "the best we have had" in the country, since "Spanish constitutional history is a joke. Every half hour we had one."
Likewise, he has opined that the electoral law is "quite reasonable" and that "it will not be so bad" when it has allowed the PP and PSOE to govern both alone and in coalition.
During his speech at the UIMP, in which he starred in a conversation with the president of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Benigno Pendás, Rajoy reviewed the national and international political situation, as well as his professional career. He has assured that he does not miss politics nor is he going to return, but that he would dedicate himself to it again, because "he has unpleasant moments, but then he has moments of great satisfaction".
For example, two "particularly unpleasant" moments during his time as president were the Catalan conflict, because he saw "the absolute impossibility of being able to dialogue"; and the Gürtel case, since he considers "deeply unfair what happened with the PP". "There were people from the PP who did what they shouldn't have done, but the treatment given to the party was exaggerated," said Rajoy, who assures that he had a "very bad time because he had the responsibility of keeping the party in its place." ". But despite the fact that he has a "collection" of bad moments, to which he adds the economic crisis of 2012, he has pointed out that the balance of his political career has been "quite happy".
