Reactions to Spanish PM¡¯s day in court: ¡°impertinent,¡± ¡°incompetent¡± and ¡°a liar¡±

Rafael Hernando, the PP spokesman in Congress, was alone in his view that Rajoy¡¯s statements had been ¡°impeccable.¡± As for the opposition, everyone agreed that the PM had failed to provide satisfactory explanations.

Pedro S¨¢nchez, secretary general of the Socialist Party (PSOE), the main opposition group in Congress, said that ¡°it is a dark day for democracy¡± when a head of government has to testify in a corruption case. In a long statement that he read out at party headquarters, S¨¢nchez concluded that Rajoy ¡°has just one way out: to tend his resignation to the king.¡±

Rajoy on Wednesday denied any knowledge of the existence of a secret slush fund at the Popular Party

¡°Mr Rajoy, out of democratic dignity, you must resign. I resigned to defend what I stand for. What do you stand for?¡± said S¨¢nchez, alluding to when he quit as PSOE leader in early October of last year, when Spain was trapped in a political stalemate following two inconclusive general elections, and his party decided to let Rajoy be reinstated by abstaining at a congressional vote. S¨¢nchez had opposed that move. He was later re-elected to the post of secretary general.

The image of the country¡¯s prime minister in the courts, he added, ¡°is the summary of six years of excesses and plundering by the PP.¡±

In a similar vein, the leader of the anti-austerity party Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, said he felt ¡°embarrassed¡± by the ¡°impertinent and cocky¡± tone employed by Rajoy to speak in court. ¡°Either Rajoy is lying to protect the PP, or else he is a tremendously negligent man. He should not remain the head of government,¡± he said.

¡°It's embarrassing to see the impertinence and cockiness with which Rajoy speaks to citizens.¡±

Joan Baldov¨ª, the congressional speaker for the Valencia coalition Comprom¨ªs, agreed that a secretary general who is completely ignorant about the economic affairs of his own party is either ¡°lying¡± or ¡°incompetent.¡±

On Wednesday, Rajoy had claimed that while he was party chief he had only dealt with political issues, not financial ones. ¡°I was never in charge of anything to do with accounting,¡± he told the court, after being asked about the alleged existence of a parallel accounting system used for opaque donations and illegal party financing.

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau also criticized Rajoy¡¯s statements. ¡°All his ¡®I don¡¯t remembers¡¯ are offensive,¡± she tweeted.

¡°All [Rajoy¡¯s] ¡®I don¡¯t remembers¡¯ are offensive:¡± Barcelona mayor Ada Colau

Jos¨¦ Manuel Villegas, secretary general of the protest party Ciudadanos, considered Rajoy¡¯s statement ¡°not very credible¡± and said it is ¡°deplorable¡± for a head of government to have to testify in court over corruption in his own party.

Josu Erkoreka, the Basque government spokesman, said at a press conference that the PP ¡°owes society a credible, comprehensive and profound explanation about all the corruption cases that have emerged one after the other in recent years.¡±

English version by Susana Urra.