Spain's prime minister shook up his government Tuesday by appointing six new Cabinet ministers, including a new economy minister to deal with the country's worsening financial crisis.
Elena Salgado was shifted from her job as public administration minister to take over the economy portfolio from veteran politician Pedro Solbes.
"Political developments and the economic situation demand a change of rhythm to confront the future with new drive and greater strength," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, noting also that Spain takes over the six-month European Union presidency in January.
Solbes, 66, a Cabinet minister since 2004, had expressed a desire to step down several times over the past year. That led to incessant calls for his resignation from the conservative opposition Popular Party.
One of Spain's most respected politicians, Solbes served as agriculture and economy minister in the early 1990s. He was named the European Union's economic and monetary affairs commissioner in 1999 and shepherded the introduction of the euro.
Since returning as economy minister in 2004, Solbes oversaw a strong boom and then was credited with keeping a tight grip on finances after the global financial crisis began.
But in recent months Solbes questioned the wisdom of several of Zapatero's measures to alleviate the economic crisis, including increasing public spending.
Once one of the EU's most dynamic economies, Spain has been among the hardest hit by the international crisis with the near collapse of its key construction sector. It has Europe's highest unemployment rate at 15.5 percent and its economy is set to shrink 3 percent this year.
Zapatero, whose Socialist Party won re-election in March 2008, made five other appointments Tuesday, including naming his party's deputy leader, Jose Blanco, as development minister.
The Andalusian regional government president, Manuel Chaves, will become the Cabinet's third deputy prime minister and hold the new post in charge of managing the federal government's relations with Spain's 17 regions.
Angeles Gonzalez Sinde, who headed Spain's cinema academy, was named culture minister. Angel Gabilondo, rector of the Madrid Autonomous University, took over the Education Ministry. Trinidad Jimenez, secretary of state for Iberoamerican affairs, is the new health minister.
