Rajoy speaks out: “I'm not going to resign because I'm not guilty”

SPAIN'S president Mariano Rajoy (pictured) was effectively 'on trial' by an entire nation today, the first time since the Bárcenas scandal hit the headlines that he had agreed to give his version in person and in public.

Cross-examined by opposition parties both within the central government and from regional Parliaments in Spain's 17 autonomous regions, Rajoy kept insisting he was innocent and that his only mistake had been 'trusting the wrong man'.

“I'm not going to plead guilty, because I'm not guilty,” the PP leader stated.

“I have no evidence to show that my party was illegally financed, although you [addressing PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba] and your party have been, and the courts have proven it.

“I've done nothing contrary to ethical conduct, I did not get into politics to get rich from it because I already had a profession beforehand.

“Although I'm not a compendium of virtues, I am indeed an honest and decent person.

“I am not going to resign and I am not going to call early elections – it's exactly the opposite of what Spain needs right now.

“We have to let the wheels of justice follow their course, and restore the 'innocent until proven guilty' rule.

“Turning to the statements by the rest of the parties, the PSOE has not let me explain anything, just tells me to resign. This has to be for a reason. And the only reason is charges which nobody has been able to prove. Is this your idea of justice? We'll, it's not mine.

Rajoy did not answer any of the direct questions from the various parties, but in answer to the countless politicians who called for the president to stand down, he gave a categoric 'no'.

“I am not going to resign or call an early election, because I have done nothing wrong.”