PSOE Calls On Spanish Rightwing to Reveal Hidden Program

Madrid, Nov 8. -Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, socialist candidate for the presidency of the Spanish Government, called upon his rival Mariano Rajoy, of the conservative Popular Party (PP), to reveal his hidden program of drastic social cuts.In a televised debate held until midnight Monday, Perez Rubalcaba challenged his opponents in the November 20 general elections to tell the Spanish people how the public deficit will be reduced without attacking the welfare state.

The aspirant to the Moncloa Palace for the governing Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) presented the rightwing leader, the favorite to win elections, as a threat to the health and public education systems.

Rajoy, however, opted for not going off script and maintained secrecy about his government's project.

Nevertheless, he accused his rival of being part of the government, that of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which has plunged Spain into a dangerous economic crisis and in the intolerable situation of almost five million unemployed.

The strike was one of the main weapons used by the conservative party to discredit the economic management of the current socialist government, in which Perez Rubalcaba was the first vice president and interior minister.

The televised face-to-face debate between the two majority parties was described as an insult to democracy and plurality by other Spanish political parties with parliamentary representation. (Prensa Latina)