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Spain’s Rajoy Says ‘Hard Times Ahead’ After Landslide

Mariano Rajoy won the biggest parliamentary majority in a Spanish election in almost 30 years and told Spaniards to brace for difficult times as the nation fights to avoid being overwhelmed by the debt crisis.

Rajoy, 56, who said on Nov. 18 he hoped Spain wouldn’t need a bailout before he can be sworn in as prime minister in a month, has pledged to slash the budget deficit and regain the nation’s AAA credit rating, without saying how he will do it. He inherits a stagnant economy with a 23 percent unemployment rate and borrowing costs back at the levels Spain was paying before it joined the euro. http://goo.gl/PrCUA