Rajoy speaks out: “Bárcenas is a fantasist and it's all lies”
Thursday, August 1, 2013 @ 9:13 PM
SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy (pictured) is effectively 'in the dock' today and 'on trial' by an entire country, including members of the opposition.
For the first time since the Bárcenas slush-fund scandal hit the headlines, Sr Rajoy (PP) has agreed to go public and tell his version.
And the world's press is hanging on his every word.
A straw-poll says only 14 per cent of Spain believes Rajoy and other top-flight PP members are innocent of receiving cash-in-hand bonuses of twice the average Spanish salary on top of their wages, received millions in bribes from construction and maintenance firms, and tried to buy Bárcenas off to convince him to stay silent.
Reporters around the globe are following his speech minute by minute, which was due to start at 09.00hrs.
Kicking off at 09.06hrs with a minute's silence for the victims of the Santiago rail tragedy – which Rajoy showed genuine empathy for, given that this is his native city – the president went on to defend his economic policies.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com