Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has outlined his government’s budget for 2016. <br /><br /> The July timing of the announcement is significant in that it comes just a few months before parliamentary elections due in November, prompting some observers to call it a pre-election handout. <br /><br /> Rajoy said the programme would serve to strengthen growth and the recovery of the Spanish economy.<br /><br /> “Spain is entering a virtuous circle – more competitivity, more growth, more jobs, more investment, lower taxes, which in their turn, lead to more growth, more competitivity.”<br /><br /> Rajoy said public workers’ salaries would go up by one percent 2016, and pensions would increase by a quarter percent. And he pointed to what he considers evidence that his policies are working.<br /><br /> “Over the last 12 months, 56 percent of those who have come off unemployment in all of Europe are Spanish”, said the prime minister. <br /><br /> The recent regional elections saw many voters abandon the traditional two largest parties in favour of a
