10/06/2013
_ “We must act against the fatigue and disenchantment of society. Our responsibility is that the parliamentary majority becomes a guarantee of the reforming momentum needed by Spain”
_ “We need to renew in order to update the historic objectives of the Transition, but with the content we need today”
_ He stressed five objectives: 1. “Being clear on the subject that the Spanish Nation or its sovereignty is not open to discussison”;
_ 2. “Renew and strengthen the democratic system and respect for the Rule of Law”;
_ 3. “Stabilising a final territorial structure”;
_ 4. “To streamline and stabilise the economy”
_ 5. “Recovering Spain’s international position”
_ “A democracy without strong parties is an invitation to instability.
_ But they have to be the channel of reforms, not its dam”
_ “Reducing the size of the Administrations and organising the division of powers is essential, and the regulatory changes needed should be implemented”
_ “The efforts we have made to balance the unity and diversity in the Autonomous State cannot be squandered by the disloyalty of some”
_ He calls for “Discard prejudices and reform the educational model” and “change the tax system and put it at the service of growth, not Administrations”
_ “If decentralisation becomes fragmented, and regulation becomes an obstacle, then we have a problem. And indeed we have one”
_ “The breaking of solidarity between generations is the result of very high levels of debt and high deficits”
_ “Por todo esto necesitamos un reformismo de alta intensidad”
_ “Let the Spanish become again the main characters of their best history and feel better protected by their institutions and represented by their parties’
The former Prime Minister of Spain and President of FAES, José María Aznar, delivered a lecture at the Club Siglo XXI in which he explained his idea of the history of Spain since the Transition and what he believes should be the key objectives that Spain should achieve in the immediate future.Aznar said that “we must act against the fatigue and disenchantment that the Spanish society is expressing” and that “our responsibility is that the current parliamentary majority becomes a guarantee of the reforming momentum needed by Spain”.
According to Aznar, “We need to renew in order to update the historic objectives of the Transition, but with the content we need today”, which means “Being clear on the subject that the Spanish Nation or its sovereignty is not open to discussison”; “Renew and strengthen the democratic system and respect for the Rule of Law”; “Stabilising a final territorial structure”; "To streamline and stabilise the economy, because both are key to the euro and they are what the middle class need and will enable welfare; and “Recovering Spain’s international position”.
The former Prime Minister said that “we are a big country, and we must be more united. If decentralisation becomes fragmented, and regulation becomes an obstacle, then we have a problem. And indeed we have one”.
Aznar added that “it is necessary to renew our social contract to adapt it to three circumstances that are now a reality, whether we like it or not: the reality of a monetary union we need to remain a part of; that of a global economy in which Spain and Europe have to successfully compete; and that of a demographic and life expectancy situation which force a change of policies and models to make the welfare state sustainable and ensure social cohesion”. “For all these reasons, we need a high intensity reformism” he stressed.
Read here the address
Podcasts (in Spanish): Aznar | Zaplana
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