The president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has experienced the five most tense minutes of the electoral campaign on account of the revaluation of pensions this Monday in an interview on Spanish Television (TVE) in which he has defended that his party has always Raised benefits in line with inflation. From there, the crossing of accusations and even challenges with the presenter of the La 1 space, Silvia Inxtaurrondo, has led to a clarification on the popular leader’s social networks to clarify what the Government of Mariano Rajoy did with pensions during a part of his mandate.
The spiral that Feijóo entered on account of this question caused several reproaches with the presenter coming to challenge each other – with these words – to tell the truth. “Are you committed to the fact that pensions are going to increase in value with the CPI?” asked the co-presenter of ‘La Hora de la 1, Marc Sala. Feijóo replied: «We have always done it. Our party has never stopped revaluing pensions according to the CPI ». And he added: “The only party that has frozen pensions has been the Socialist Party.” But the popular leader did not expect the counter-question from the space presenter, Silvia Intxaurrondo, who rebutted him with “It is not correct, Mr. Feijóo.” From that moment on, the entanglement ended in mutual accusations of lying with increasingly serious faces.
The presenter reminded him that “they did not do it in 2012, nor in 2013, nor in 2017.” Feijóo asked him “where did they get this data from”, alluding to “the newspaper library”. In addition, he added that “when the CPI was negative, they revalued by 0.25%.” To a “check the data” to the presenter, she insisted that “mine are correct” in a conversation that ended with the popular president’s challenge for anyone who was confused to apologize publicly.
What Feijóo wanted to refer to with his insistent statement is that the PP always raised pensions, to a greater or lesser extent, although it was not always at the CPI level, but that it never froze them. This is indicated by sources from the party’s campaign. The PP has always justified that pensions did not rise in value for some years to the level at which prices did due to the treasury tensions that Social Security was experiencing in the midst of an economic recession.
In fact, a few minutes after the television scuffle ended, he published a message on his social networks to clarify the terms of his response: “I don’t mind clarifying any statement if it has been inaccurate, unlike Sánchez, whose arrogance I never told him. would allow”. In addition, he pointed out in another adjacent message: «As I promised, I clarify. I reiterate that the PP never froze pensions and the PSOE did, with Sánchez’s vote. The PP raised pensions every year and the PSOE did not. Even when it was easy to freeze them as the PSOE did, we also uploaded them ».
As promised, I clarify:
I reiterate that the @ppopular He never froze pensions and the PSOE did, with Sánchez’s vote.
The PP raised pensions every year and the PSOE did not.
Even when it was easy to freeze them as the PSOE did, we also uploaded them.
— Alberto Núñez Feijóo (@NunezFeijoo) July 17, 2023
The reality is that until this year it was the government of the day that decided how much pensions were revalued since there was no obligation to do so in accordance with the CPI, as the law now establishes. The first year of power, the Executive of Mariano Rajoy raised pensions by 1%, although the average inflation of that 2012 exceeded 2%. Something similar happened in 2013, in the midst of the financial crisis, with a 1% rise for retirees and prices that increased by almost a point and a half.
However, between 2014 and 2016, with the recession and prices falling, pensions did gain purchasing power by rising an average of 0.25 points, the legal minimum established by the reform of the system approved by that Government. Again in 2017 pensions were revalued to a lesser extent (that 0.25%) compared to 2% of inflation. Already in 2018, the increase in both variables was the same.
The PSOE candidate, Pedro Sánchez, has taken advantage of the television mess to attack the PP to remember again when he governed he did not revalue pensions and has also voted “systematically” against raising salaries according to the rise in the price of life, in these last few years. “The 10 million pensioners deserve to know the truth” he has reproached.
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