Government > Leaders Stats: compare key data on Netherlands & Spain

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STAT	Netherlands	Spain	HISTORY
Head of state	King Willem-Alexander	King Juan Carlos I
Head of state > Profile	<p>King Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch male monarch in more than a century in April 2013 when his mother Beatrix abdicated to end a 33-year reign. </p> <p>The generational change in the House of Orange-Nassau gave the Netherlands a moment of celebration and pageantry at a time of recession brought on by the European economic crisis. </p> <p>The much-loved Beatrix ended her reign in a nationally televised signing ceremony as thousands of orange-clad people cheered outside. Her retirement followed in the tradition of her mother and grandmother.</p> <p>Willem-Alexander&#039;s popular Argentine-born wife became Queen Maxima and their eldest daughter, Catharina-Amalia, became Princess of Orange and first in line to the throne.</p> <p>The king, a water management specialist, has said he will bring a less formal touch to the monarchy.</p>	<p>Spaniards credit King Juan Carlos with steering the country to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and for saving Spain from a coup attempt in 1981.</p> <p>However, the royal family&#039;s popularity has declined in recent years, amid criticism that it is out of touch with ordinary Spaniards as they struggle with a severe economic crisis. </p> <p>King Juan Carlos&#039;s reputation has been tarnished by an ongoing corruption inquiry implicating his son-in-law, and by a luxury elephant-hunting safari in Botswana in April 2012 at a time of record unemployment in his country.</p> <p>The Spanish chapter of the conservation group WWF removed King Juan Carlos as its honorary president after news of the elephant-hunting trip emerged.</p>
Head of state > Summary	King Willem-Alexander with former queen Beatrix and Queen Maxima	King Juan Carlos I
Prime minister	Mark Rutte	Mariano Rajoy
Prime minister > Profile	<p>Mark Rutte won a second term in October 2012 when his liberal People&#039;s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) formed a coalition with the centre-left Labour Party after narrowly beating it in parliamentary elections.</p> <p>The VVD won 41 seats in the 150-member lower house - a lead of just two seats over Labour - in the September vote.</p> <p>Mr Rutte&#039;s previous cabinet - a minority coalition with the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal - had collapsed after only two years in office.</p> <p>It resigned in April 2012 when populist politician Geert Wilders&#039; eurosceptic, anti-immigration Freedom Party, which had been propping up the government without joining it, refused to back a tough austerity package.</p> <p>The cuts were intended to comply with EU deficit targets.</p> <p>Mark Rutte&#039;s new cabinet was seen as more pro-austerity and pro-EU than his last one.</p> <p>The new coalition warned that tough measures would be needed to weather the financial crisis and secure the Netherlands&#039; economic future.</p> <p>The Freedom Party, which had held the balance of power in the previous parliament, suffered heavy losses in the September 2012 poll and came a distant third, tying with the left-wing Socialist Party.</p>	<p>Mariano Rajoy became prime minister in December 2011 after his conservative Popular Party won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections.</p><p>The election campaign was dominated by Spain&#039;s deep debt crisis and sky-high unemployment, and the governing Socialists&#039; defeat was widely expected.</p> <p>Mr Rajoy, who has long been known as a cautious public administrator, warned the Spanish people that there is no miracle cure to restore the country to economic health.</p> <p>The son of a lawyer, Mariano Rajoy grew up in a socially conservative Catholic environment, studied law and began his career as a land registrar.</p> <p>He became a regional deputy for the Popular Party at the age of 26 and rose steadily through the party ranks.</p> <p>He held a number of ministerial positions in the governments of Jose Maria Aznar from 1996 to 2004, and was rewarded for his loyalty and discipline when Mr Aznar chose him as his successor as party leader.</p> <p>As leader of the opposition after the 2004 election, Mr Rajoy struggled to rebuild the party&#039;s fortunes.</p> <p>His staying power finally paid dividends when the global economic downturn destroyed public faith in the Socialists&#039; ability to steer the country through a period of deep crisis.</p> <p>In office he has nonetheless struggled to impose financial discipline, and had to turn to the European Union to bail out the banking sector in June 2012.</p> <p>He has pledged to cut government spending by 16.5bn euros (£13.7bn, $21.5bn) and to reduce the public deficit to 6.5% by the end of 2013 - a target that the IMF deems realistic after the failure of an over-ambitious plan to cut it to 4.4% in 2012.</p> <p>In addition, he faces a serious move towards independence by Catalonia, Spain&#039;s wealthiest region, and allegations of links to the case of Luis Barcenas, an ex-treasurer of the Popular Party and suspect in a payments scandal.</p>
Prime minister > Summary	Mark Rutte won a fresh mandate in September 2012	Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy came to power at a time of economic crisis

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