AND THIS while he was insulting anyone who would suggest there was such a risk as unpatriots, saying they wanted the country to fail:

Spain's Prime Minister told trade unions on August 17 the country was close to needing a bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, union leader Ignacio Fernandez Toxo said during an interview with state television.

"He told us (the situation) was really bad, he said he had seen it on the edge of the abyss, in the form of a bailout for the Spanish economy," Toxo said in an interview posted on the website of state television's 24-hour news channel on Monday.