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Solbes admits not seeing crisis coming

The minister of the economy in the government of José Luis Zapatero, Pedro Solbes, yesterday admitted to not having seen the 2008 crisis coming and not having correctly ascertained the depth of the crisis. Solbes was appearing before the Congressional Commmission called to investigate the origins of the crisis and evaluate the performance of the successive governments in dealing with it. The former minister openly intoned a mea culpa: “We were incapable of predicting the depth of the recession,” admitting that for a period of time, he refused to even use the word “crisis,” especially in the two months leading up to the general elections. Once the crisis began, the 2008 surplus of 2% fell to a deficit of 1.11% in 2009. Solbes admitted to discrepancies with Zapatero over financial policy but said the PSOE was “brave” in approving an initial labour reform in 2010 despite union opposition.

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