Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho took off his tie in front of journalists on Thursday in solidarity with Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian who ruffled some feathers when he appeared in parliament a day earlier without one.

"You can be formal with a tie or without one," said Corbacho, adding that wearing a tie should not be "some sort of dogma".

Shortly after Sebastian appeared in the assembly with his more casual look, the president of the parliament, Jose Bono, sent him a tie with small lions stamped on it as a gift via an usher.

But the minister refused to wear the tie, which is available for sale in the chambers' gift shop for 35 euros (55 dollars), according to daily newspaper El Mundo.

Sebastian has ordered air-conditioners in offices belonging to his ministry to be set at a minimum of 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) and recommended that staff wear casual clothes over the summer to beat the heat at a time of record high oil prices so as to save energy.

He sent Bono a gift of his own on Thursday -- a thermometer so that he can measure the temperature in parliament.

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