MADRID, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Monday he did not lie about the government's economic forecasts ahead of the Spanish elections in March 2008.
Speaking on the television programme 'I have a question for you,' in which guests are subject to questions by the studio audience, Zapatero said he was mistaken on his predictions, but he denied lying.
"I did not lie at that time ... I could have been mistaken, but I didn't lie," Zapatero said.
In the run up to the March 2008 national elections, the Socialist government, headed by Zapatero, predicted Spain's gross domestic product would grow 3.1 percent in 2008 after 3.7 percent growth in 2007.
Days after the Socialists won the election, Spanish Economy Minister Pedro Solbes told Reuters he expected growth to fall below 3 percent for 2008 as a whole.
The government now expects GDP to contract by 1.6 percent this year. (Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Dan Grebler)