Madrid, Spain, Nov 11, 2008 / 04:55 pm (CNA).- The Spanish weekly, “Alba,” reported this week that excessive budget cuts of more than $62 million from programs for families and childcare show the Spanish government’s lack of interest in the family.

The newspaper reported that last year such programs received from $79 million in funding but are only slated to receive $17 million in 2009.

It said the cuts will have an impact on large families as rising inflation has led to a drop in income.

Alba reported that the cuts will affect more than two million Spaniards, according to the Ministry of Employment’s statistics, which show that there are more than 413,000 families in the country with at least five members.

The budget changes, the paper said, “paint a good picture of what Zapatero’s priorities are in trying to implement a more ‘austere’ spending policy.”

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