Mariano Rajoy, the president of Spain's
conservative Partido Popular (PP), has stiffened his stand against
the nation's gay marriage law.
Rajoy is vying to become the nation's
next prime minister in a contest to be held in early 2012.
Last month, he backtracked a bit from
comments he made in a November interview with daily El Pais,
in which he said he believed the nation's 5-year-old gay marriage law
is unconstitutional and that he wouldn't keep the law even if a court
decided it was constitutional. The PP has filed a constitutional
challenge to the law.
He altered course a bit in December,
saying on national television, “I'll await the resolution of the
Constitutional Court and then listen to the people.”
But
in a recent interview broadcast on Radio Nacional de Espana (RNE)
radio, Rajoy backtracked, saying he would “change” the gay
marriage law.
“And for example, if the
Constitutional Court upholds the gay marriage law or the abortion
law, would you keep them?” the interviewer asked.
“I've already said that I'll change
the first, and the second I'll wait to hear from the Constitutional
Court and listen to the people before making a decision,” Rajoy
responded.
Pope
Benedict XVI recently blessed via satellite an outdoor mass urging
Roman Catholic Spaniards to oppose gay marriage.