Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended his government’s harsh austerity measures aimed at correcting the country’s grim economic forecast, a day after tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets to protest his handling of the country’s worst crisis in decades.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy today defended his government’s harsh austerity measures aimed at correcting Spain’s grim economic forecast, one day after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest against his handling of the country’s worst crisis in decades.

Spaniards angered by increasingly grim economic prospects and unemployment hitting one out of every four citizens turned out in droves in the nation’s largest cities.

Thousands of Spaniards angered by their grim economic prospects and political handling of the international financial crisis turned out for street demonstrations in the country’s cities today, marking the one-year anniversary of a movement that inspired similar pressure groups in other countries.