Halfway through an 18-day re-election campaign, Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez Marquez finds himself attacked on several fronts. Once friendly trade unions complain that the Socialist leader has forsaken his party's traditional ideology by freezing social benefits and allowing 16% unemployment. Businessmen, who still applaud Gonzalez's successful campaign to attract foreign investment and reduce inflation, now fret about high interest rates and a growing trade deficit.
But after seven years in office, Gonzalez -- and, apparently, the electorate -- remains unfazed by the criticism; he is expected to lead his party to a third consecutive victory on Oct. 29. The Prime Minister feels confident enough about the outcome to leave the campaign trail and visit Washington this week, his first official trip to the U.S. since 1984 and his first substantive meeting with President George Bush since the two countries renewed their defense agreement last year and arranged for the transfer of 72 U.S. Air Force fighters from Spain to Italy.
Gonzalez talked for two hours with correspondent Margot Hornblower and TIME's Jane Walker at the neoclassical Moncloa Palace, the Prime Minister's ! official residence. Excerpts:
Q.
How are Spain's relations with the U.S.?
A.
They are much better today than they have been for a long time. When we had a dictatorship, our relations with the U.S. were, shall we say, "special." It could not have been particularly agreeable for the U.S. to deal with an authoritarian regime, but they considered it necessary from a geostrategic viewpoint. We have gone through a difficult period when we had to negotiate a new agreement on a different footing. The former regime ((of General Francisco Franco)) posed no problem for the U.S., but that comfortable relationship was lost. Now we have one of mutual acceptance and respect.
Q.
What will you discuss with Bush?
A.
I don't want to advance any agenda. I think that the U.S. will be interested to know the Spanish views on the process of unity in Europe. We are one of the countries that are most determined to see a European unity, not only a free- trade zone.
Q.
What do you think of American policy in Latin America?
A.
A much more daring attitude toward the debt problem is vital. North American banks have been far too rigid. There should be not only a North Atlantic relationship between Europe and the U.S. but also a triangular one between Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. This has never been properly understood by the U.S.
Q.
What about U.S. policy in Panama?
A.
They should respect and comply with the ((Panama Canal)) treaties. And there should be no intervention in Panama. We must exclude any possibility of intervention, even in speeches.
Q.
Is it true that Spain is the most liberal country in Europe?
A.
There is an explosion that occurs when freedoms are granted after a dictatorial regime. On the other hand, Spain is a Mediterranean society that lives a lot in the streets. At 3 in the morning, Madrid streets are still full of people coming out of restaurants, having a drink.
Q.
And taking cocaine . . .
A.
Perhaps.
Q.