Feijóo calls Escrivá "amnesiac" because three years ago he defended in pensions the same as Airef and the PP

"Perhaps Escrivá is really irresponsible, frivolous, insolvent and lacking in patriotism, which is how he described us," he proclaims.

MADRID, 27 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has called the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, José Luis Escrivá, "amnesiac", because three years ago when he was in charge of the Independent Fiscal Authority, he defended the same thing in pension matters as he says now the Popular Party, the Bank of Spain and Airef itself. In addition, he has stressed that the Executive itself "deep down recognizes it" by postponing this debate to 2025.

Feijóo has stated that the pension reform has been carried out without "transparency" or "consensus", "punishes workers" and "penalizes growth and job creation". What's more, he has said that it supposes "a mortgage for the new generations of Spaniards and does not guarantee long-term sustainability."

"This was not said by me, but also by the Bank of Spain and Airef," he stressed, to underline that Minister Escrivá himself also said it when he was in charge of the Independent Authority.

In the presentation of the conference of the president of the PP of Castilla-La Mancha, Paco Núñez, organized by Fórum Europa, Feijóo recalled that Escrivá three years ago said verbatim that social contributions are "relatively high" and "any modification should not imply price increase".

"Perhaps Mr. Escrivá is really irresponsible, frivolous, insolvent and lacking in patriotism, which is how he described us a few days ago for saying the same thing he said when he was director of Airef," he declared.

Feijóo has assured that now all that remains is for this to be "recognized by the Government" and has said that "deep down it also recognizes it" and "proof of this is that the text says that the reform will have to wait until 2025" and "return to restore the balance of pensions". "We are not, then, before a pension reform but rather a pseudo-reform before the elections", he stated.

In the same way, he has criticized that saying that the pension reform has been carried out without consensus and does not guarantee long-term sustainability means, according to the Government, that the PP "wants the elderly to be left without pensions", something which, in his opinion, shows that his words are "manipulated".

In addition, he has reaffirmed himself in his statements this weekend before an act with the Hispanic community when he stated that he felt proud of not paying homage to "autocratic rulers" and has accused the Government of "manipulating" his words, something that, in his opinion, , is due to the fact that he is "very nervous" and will do "whatever is necessary to stay in power, reaching levels never seen in a democracy."

"It is unprecedented and unprecedented in our history and European environment for a government to attack the democratic opposition in Spain in the way it is doing," he proclaimed, to complain about having been the focus of the Executive's "attacks" in all the acts and rounds of the Council of Ministers.

In his opinion, the last step in this "drift" is to "manipulate" his words and "generate fake news" to try to "silence" opposition criticism. As he explained, the government "intends" that its criticisms become criticisms of the Ibero-American Summit

"Have no doubt that of course we support this and all the Ibero-American summits and, consequently, the presence of the Government of Spain and the Head of State, His Majesty the King", he stated, to clarify that what the PP is not going to support is that in the last four or five years in Spain "homage is paid to autocratic regimes" with whom "unfortunately some seem to be more comfortable" both "by members of the Government and by leaders and former leaders of the PSOE and Podemos".

According to Feijóo, what has happened with his words on pensions and on the Ibero-American Summit are the two "last examples" of a government that "has decided to use all possible, legitimate and non-legitimate tools to attack the opposition."

The head of the opposition has guaranteed that he will continue to denounce "things that are wrong" and "maintaining a critical spirit and setting up an alternative to the Government." In addition, he has stressed that the opposition is a "basic and essential element of democratic regimes."

Feijóo has insisted that what the Government is doing against the opposition is "unprecedented and unheard of, more typical of totalitarian regimes than democratic ones." In his opinion, it is an "authoritarian drift line" and "assault and control of the institutions" that "puts the foundations of democracy at risk." "I am afraid that it will be like this until the general elections", he has predicted himself.

Finally, he praised the work that Paco Núñez is doing in Castilla-La Mancha, who at this breakfast has been supported by the former general secretary of the PP and former president of the region, María Dolores de Cospedal.

Feijóo has said that the citizens will pronounce themselves "clearly" on May 28 at the polls in a "change that will be unstoppable" in this region and "a prelude to the change in Spain, which more and more Spaniards want." "The road will not be easy and it is clear that they will put up all the obstacles but they will not intimidate us, we will fulfill our obligation, not only to oppose but to present our alternative", he concluded.