Spanish new gov't to be sworn in on Dec. 22

Mariano Rajoy, the leader of Spanish Popular Party which won the latest general election, would be sworn in on December 22, said the party's spokesperson Maria Dolores de Cospedal on Monday. The inauguration will take place after the investiture debate, which will be held on Dec. 20 and 21. This debate could be the first time that the Spaniards hear the PP's policies for the coming four years. Rajoy would hold his first cabinet meeting on Dec. 23, but Dolores de Cospedal declined to give any further details of that meeting or who may be included in Rajoy's cabinet. She did, however, insisted that Rajoy would be carrying out financial, labor and educational reforms, which the country "cannot afford not to fulfil." Meanwhile the defeated Socialist (PSOE) Party has confirmed that Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, who was their candidate in the general election, will be the party's spokesman in congress.