Foul-mouthed PP lawmaker apologizes for jobless jibe

Popular Party (PP) congressional deputy Andrea Fabra apologized on Tuesday for her sudden defamatory outburst on the floor of the house last week allegedly aimed at the nation’s unemployed when Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that the jobless would have their benefits reduced.

Fabra, the daughter of PP's controversial political boss in Castellón, Carlos Fabra, yelled out “screw them” after opposition lawmakers had jeered at Rajoy’s announcement. The incident was captured by television cameras and posted on many websites, including in the United States.

Fabra said she was addressing the opposition benches and accused the Socialist Party, which called for her resignation, of manipulating the incident. But under pressure from some in her own party, Fabra sent a letter to Speaker Jesús Posada, who publicly admonished her at the start of Monday's session. “I hope that incidents such as this one, which objectively damage the prestige of this chamber, never again take place,” Posada said.

Some fellow PP lawmakers were seen offering support and comfort to Fabra who listened to the speaker’s remarks from her seat in parliament.

In her letter to Posada, she asks the speaker to convey her forgiveness to all the parties.

“I made a mistake that I am not proud of,” she wrote. "I have sent a letter to the Socialist bloc asking for forgiveness as well as the rest of the chamber, and I am not going to say anything more about this.”

Socialist Party sources told Efe that they were satisfied with Fabra’s apology but continue to insist that he remarks were aimed at the nation’s unemployed and said the PP lawmaker should publicly ask forgiveness from them.